Türkiye did not set any conditions for Kyiv to return Azov commanders
Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Türkiye, has said that Türkiye had not set any conditions for the return of the commanders who defended Mariupol.
Source: Bodnar on air with Svoboda Ranok (Liberty Morning), a Radio Liberty project
Quote from Bodnar: "In fact, no conditions have been put forward that I am aware of for the return of our military. On the contrary, this is precisely the peculiar nature of this position of the Turkish side as a mediator, which provides so-called good services to keep the process going. Its role, of course, is also important in this process. As its rating rises."
Details: Bodnar has also said that the negotiations on setting the commanders free lasted several months. And "the entire diplomatic vanguard" had been involved in this process.
He said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had raised this particular issue during previous phone conversations with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Bodnar believes that Ankara is interested in this operation because it strengthens Türkiye’s position in the international arena and in communication with Russia.
"Let's not assume that this is just a kind gesture towards Ukraine. It is also a strengthening of Türkiye’s position in communication with the Russian side," the ambassador said.
Background:
- On 8 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that military commanders who defended the Azovstal steel plant and then stayed in Türkiye as part of a prisoner swap after being released from Russian captivity were coming back to Ukraine from Türkiye.
- Later, Zelenskyy’s press service clarified that five commanders from Azovstal had returned to Ukraine on Saturday following negotiations with Türkiye.
- Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine and Türkiye of violating agreements by returning five commanders who defended Azovstal to their homeland.
- Zelenskyy and the Azovstal defenders arrived in Lviv on the evening of 8 July.
- The commanders of the Azovstal defenders promised to go back to the front and have their say in battle.
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