REUTERS

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko has commented on the distribution of functions between himself and presidential aide Andriy Yermak.

"I used to work at the presidential administration, and there've been different configurations at different periods. In principle, there's nothing new in this structure. It is sometimes convenient for fulfilling specific tasks. You can see that Mr. Yermak is really involved in specific moments that are often critical for the president," Prystaiko told RFE/RL.

Yermak is responsible for coordinating the negotiation processes for the exchange and release of Ukrainian citizens held for political reasons in Russia and in the territories controlled by the Kremlin.

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In turn, the top diplomat coordinates the work of the ministry and embassies around the world.

Prystaiko added that under the previous government, a similar algorithm used to work: for example, negotiations in the Normandy format were coordinated by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Kostyantyn Yeliseiev.