UNITED NATIONS, Jan 5, 2024 (BSS/XINHUA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the exchange of 230 Ukrainian and 248 Russian prisoners of war, the largest swap in the almost two-year-old conflict, a UN spokeswoman said on Thursday.

"He commends the efforts of both parties and the third-party facilitation by the United Arab Emirates that contributed to this positive development," said Stephanie Tremblay, associate spokeswoman for Guterres.

"The secretary-general hopes that this important step will be followed by additional exchanges of prisoners of war and by other de-escalation efforts," she added.