He emphasized that the agreement on the stay of “Azov” commanders in Turkey after their release from captivity was reached after a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Turkey was only acting as an asylum provider in this matter.
Erdogan stated that he allowed the “Azovians” to go home only because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked him to do so. At the same time, Russia “quite quickly changed its negative attitude” towards the return of “Azovstal” defenders home, the Turkish leader claimed.
“In the beginning, there were some Russian objections, but when they learned about some circumstances, the situation changed to the positive side,” Erdogan said, avoiding further comment.
It has already been reported that on July 8, Zelensky will return from a visit to Turkey together with the commanders of the “Azov” unit, who were interned in Turkey after the fall of Mariupol.
“We are returning home from Turkey and bringing home our heroes. Finally, Ukrainian soldiers Denis Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhii Volinsky, Oleh Khomenko, Denis Shleha will be with their loved ones,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram website.
On September 22, 2022, it was announced that Russia and Ukraine had exchanged prisoners, in which Russia handed over 215 prisoners to Ukraine, receiving pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and 55 Russian soldiers in return.
2023-07-12 18:17:35
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