In Turkey, they told how the negotiations on the exchange of captured heroes of Azovstal took place. It was especially difficult with the exchange of combat commanders.
Turkish Presidential Speaker Ibrahim Kalin said that representatives of his country had been discussing this issue with Russia for more than 3 months.
It should have been 15 instead of 5
Ibrahim Kalin said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “very warm” about this issue. At first, there were 15 names on the exchange list, according to which 5 hero combat commanders were exchanged as a result. However, it was not possible to coordinate it with the Russian side with the Russians.
It turned out that the exchange of prisoners was discussed before the presidents' visit to Lvov, Erdogan also discussed it with Putin during a meeting with him in Samarkand. However, the Russians immediately made it clear that 15 people from the list would not be returned. When Erdogan went to Lviv, this list was already shortened.
Our President treated this issue very warmly, we discussed this issue with our colleagues for about 3-3.5 months. Could not agree on 15 names. This list did not reach Lviv, at the very end it was reduced to 5 names. These 5 people will remain safe with us until the end of the war,” Kalin said.
Turkish representative on the role of the Ukrainian side during the exchange
Ibrahim Kalin said that the Ukrainian side “showed its constructive position” during the exchange. The National Intelligence Organization of Turkey also played an important role in the exchange.
Note that on September 21, 5 combat commanders were released from Russian captivity:
- Denis “Radis” Prokopenko,
- Sergey “Volyn” Volynsky,
- Svyatoslav “Kalina” Palamar,
- Denis Schleg,
- Oleg Khomenko.
Upon their return, the commanders said that they were abused in captivity. You can also see that they have changed a lot and lost weight. The defenders also clarified that they did not know where they were being taken. They realized that this exchange had already landed in Turkey.
Recall that 200 Ukrainian heroes were exchanged for Medvedchuk, who had already given all possible evidence to the investigation. And 5 heroes-commanders of “Azovstal” – for 55 Russian prisoners.
