KIEV

KIEV: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday he and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed a framework for a deal to secure the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko from a 22-year jail sentence in Russia.

The sentencing of two captured Russian servicemen in Ukraine on Monday fuelled speculation that they might be swapped for Savchenko, 34, who was found guilty of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists in 2014 during Ukraine’s separatist conflict. She has denied any involvement.

"Yesterday I initiated a conversation with Putin and based on preliminary preparations it seems to me we have managed to agree on a certain algorithm to free Nadezhda," Poroshenko told journalists.