Nasrallah: Positive progress in talks on swap deal
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah says Monday's swap deal with Israel was only preliminary action ahead of major exchange that will include kidnapped Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser
Nasrallah said a limited exchange on Monday in which Israel returned a prisoner and the bodies of two Hizbullah guerrillas in exchange for the body of an Israeli who drowned at sea two years ago provided "an important incentive" for a major prisoner swap in the future.
"The deal that was carried out yesterday is a great achievement, but was only a partial and preliminary action," Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast by Hizbullah's al-Manar TV station. "Eventually, this was a limited step ahead of a more important step.
"What happened gave a big push towards the important action, whether for Hizbullah, the enemy or the mediators," he stated.
"Regarding a wider-scale move, I wish to stress – there are extensive negotiations and ongoing meetings. The talks will continue in the coming days. I can talk about progress on the issue of the two soldiers and the prisoners," he added.
According to Nasrallah, the negotiations with Israel began several months ago, and have been brokered by a third party (Germany). He said that about a month ago Hizbullah notified the international mediator that the body of an Israeli who drowned at sea has reached the organization's hands, and that Hizbullah was willing to swap it in return for prisoners.
