Russia and Ukraine have agreed to proceed to an exchange of 200 prisoners, the Turkish president said on Monday night, Recep Tayyip Erdoganto the North American television PBS.
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“Soon 200 prisoners will be exchanged thanks to an agreement between the parties,” said the Turkish president, who estimated that it is a “significant” advance in the race.
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The leader did not give more details about that agreement or about the profile of the prisoners concerned, for example if they will be civilians or military.
Erdogan, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week at a regional summit in Uzbekistan, said that he wants to “end as soon as possible” with the war.
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“In Uzbekistan I met with President Putin and we had very extensive discussions. And he has shown me that he is willing to end this as soon as possible. That was my impression, because the way things are going at the moment is quite problematic. “said the Turkish president.
The Turkish president has managed to maintain his relations with Moscow and kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and has regularly offered his mediation in the conflict, arguing that it is necessary “to find an agreement that satisfies the whole world”.
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However, for there to be a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine it will be necessary to return the territories occupied by Moscow.
Erdogan shows his desire for the war to end with “a reciprocal agreement” and assures that he does not want to take sides, but stresses that nothing justifies the Russian invasion, that Moscow must abandon the invaded territory and defended the territorial unity of Ukraine in its internationally recognized borders.
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“That is what is expected,” Erdogan said in the interview, assuring that he and NATO Secretary General Antonio Guterres are “working on it.”
Ankara has even called for the restitution of Crimea to Ukraine since Russia seized the peninsula and annexed it in 2014, Erdogan recalled, who says he is concerned about the Turkish-speaking Tatar minority living there.
Erdogan arrived in New York on Saturday, where this Tuesday he is due to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.
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‘We can’t take sides’
Asked if Putin was wrong to invade Ukraine, Erdogan replies: “No leader would say after the fact that it was a mistake, that he was wrong.”
Regarding the accusations against the Russian Army of having caused massacres during the invasion, Erdogan points out that there have also been pro-Russian civilian victims and that the United Nations should be the body that determines what happenedand emphasizes: “We cannot take sides. And it would not be right for us to do that.”
Turkey maintains good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, and Erdogan justifies this by explaining that if an agreement is reached that ends the war, it must satisfy the parties involved.
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No leader would say afterwards that it was a mistake, that he was wrong
“We are not going to reach that conclusion (of the war) by taking sides. We are not going to defend a single leader. But, instead, we have to seek a conclusion that satisfies all the parties involved,” he said.
At the recent summit in Samarkand, Putin acknowledged that China and India had expressed “concerns” about the Ukraine war launched by Moscow on February 24.
At the summit, Putin told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will do everything he can to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end as soon as possible.
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“I know your position regarding the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns you frequently express. We will do everything to bring it to an end as soon as possible,” Putin told Modi at a meeting in the Uzbek city.
The head of the Kremlin assured that it is Ukraine that refuses to negotiate with Russia.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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