Commanders of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment flew home from Istanbul Airport on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Turkey angered Vladimir Putin by releasing commanders of the Ukrainian Azov regiment who were being held under a prisoner exchange deal.
Russian commentators demanded a tough response to Turkey's “betrayal” and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called this “breach” of trust.
“No one notified Russia of the transfer,” Peskov said. “They were supposed to stay in Turkey until the end of the conflict.”
Peskov reacted to a video showing commanders of the Azov regiment hugging Volodymyr Zelensky and other members of the Ukrainian government after they were handed over to an airport in Turkey, and then fly to Ukraine on Saturday.
Azov commander hugs President Zelensky in Istanbul. Photo: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Mr. Zelensky was in Turkey for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country's president, who also pledged to support Ukraine's aspirations for NATO membership.
“Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” Erdogan said after talks with the Ukrainian president on Friday in Istanbul. Ukraine's NATO membership is to be discussed at the annual NATO summit in Vilnius this week.
Turkey is a member of NATO, but it maintained business and air ties with Russia when Europe cut off contact after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine last February.
When Putin faced an uprising of his Wagner mercenary squad two weeks ago, Erdogan was one of the few international leaders who supported him. He also held unsuccessful peace talks and negotiated an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea ports.
Mr. Erdogan said Putin would visit Turkey in August for rare foreign talks, but analysts say his prisoner release deal with Mr. Zelensky could show he is starting to support Ukraine more strongly.
“President Erdogan understands Putin better than most,” said Konstantin Sonin, professor of public policy at the University of Chicago. “Putin doesn't listen to words, but can get a message if the message is a tangible action.”
The Azov Regiment defended Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine from Russian forces during the first few months of the invasion. The Kremlin accused the regiment of being a safe haven for fascism and presented it as evidence that Ukraine was harboring Nazis.
Under the terms of a prison swap deal agreed last September, 215 Ukrainian soldiers were exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of Putin, and 55 other Russian soldiers. Ordinary soldiers from the Azov Regiment were sent back to Ukraine, and their commanders were sent to Turkey, where Erdogan promised to keep them until the end of the war.
Now in Moscow, Russian experts believe that Mr. Edrogan betrayed Russia and the spirit of the prisoner exchange deal. Sergei Markov, a pro-war commentator and former Kremlin adviser, said Putin needed a firm response.
“The consequences of this gross violation of these agreements and the release of the Azov fascists must be addressed. very, very important,” he said.
On Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea grain deal in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Russia’s foreign minister . the ministry said.
In Lvov, in western Ukraine, the commanders of the Azov regiment were greeted as heroes and immediately promised to return to battle.
Denis Prokopenko, one of the liberated Azov regiments ” commanders, said that his “main goal” was to return to the front line.
“We will continue the fight,” he said. “We will definitely have our say in battle again.”
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