BERLIN (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday hailed the release of Ukrainian helicopter pilot Nadiya Savchenko after nearly two years in a Russian prison.

"I am happy and relieved that Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko has finally been released and can return to her family in Ukraine," said Steinmeier, also the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"This is good news for which we worked a long time and for which we also had to wait a long time."