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ANKARA — The Kremlin said Monday that it was expecting a clarification from Turkey over Ankara's release of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Speaking at a press briefing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stressed the importance of the dialogue between the two countries.
"It is very important that, unlike a number of countries of the so-called collective West, Turkey maintains a dialogue with us and, moreover, maintains it at a high and top level. We will use these channels of dialogue to clarify our position," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian media.
"We intend to continue our relations with the Republic of Turkey. They are truly versatile. And we will continue mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation ... But of course, in the course of our dialogue, we expect to receive clarifications from the Turkish side about what happened," he added.
Peskov comments on Monday came after Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the return of Azov prisoners with hid Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Sunday. “The ministers reaffirmed the need to preserve and strengthen the trust-based nature of the ties between Moscow and Ankara,” a Russian readout of the call said.
The soldiers who returned to Ukraine on Saturday were required to stay in Turkey until the war ends under a prisoner exchange deal struck between the warring countries in September.
Lavrov also “drew attention to the destructiveness” of military equipment supplies to Ukraine, the readout said, in an apparent reference to Turkish military supplies to Ukraine.
"Appropriate steps, as was emphasized, can only lead to negative consequences," the readout added.
It marked the first public Russian criticism of Turkey’s supplying Bayraktar armed drones to Ukraine. Their use in the Ukrainian war has raised drones to international fame.
Speaking on Monday, Peskov said in addition to the phone call between the two top diplomats, contacts at other levels were also underway. "We have fairly close, developed, multifaceted and mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Turkey. There are certain issues on which we have disagreements," said Peskov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who paid his first visit to Turkey on Friday since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced the next day that he took the five soldiers with him back to Ukraine.
The soldiers, who surrendered to the Russian forces after a siege in the Ukrainian southeastern port city of Mariupol last year, were handed over to the Turkish authorities last September on the condition that they reside in the country until the war is over under a Turkey/Saudi Arabia-brokered prisoner exchange deal between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine released more than 50 prisoners under the deal including Viktor Medvedchuk, a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to the Russia press prior to the Lavrov-Fidan talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Turkey of violating the deal and claimed that Russia wasn’t notified of the move. However, Peskov also said that Turkey was “under great pressure” from its NATO allies to release the prisoners.
The Turkish side has yet to comment on the release of the Azov commanders. The Turkish readout of the Fidan-Lavrov phone call said the two chief diplomats discussed the latest developments in Ukraine and the extension of the Black Sea grain deal, due to expire on July 17, that allows Ukrainian grain and other products onto world markets. The international community is calling on Moscow to extend the Turkey-United Nations-brokered deal that will expire next Monday.
Speaking on Monday ahead of his departure for NATO’s annual summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Erdogan expressed confidence that Putin would greenlight the extension of the deal for another term, adding that phone diplomacy on the issue was ongoing between the Russian and Turkish officials.
“We expect a visit next month. If Mr. Putin's visit to Turkey takes place, we will of course discuss it face-to-face,” Erdogan said.
“Ukraine says that they are ready to do their part on this issue. And I do not expect a different attitude from Mr. Putin in our meeting with him,” he added.
