Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “wants to end this war as soon as possible”.
However, for any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish head of state stressed that it will be necessary to return the territories occupied by the Russians. “It is what is intended and expected”he stated and assured that he is working in this direction with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.
Ankara has continuously called for the return of Crimea to Ukraine since its occupation by Russia in 2014, Erdogan recalls, who is particularly concerned about the fate of the Turkish-speaking Tatar minority.
Erdogan, by the way, met the Russian president in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last week during a regional summit.
Turkey’s president also revealed to US television PBS on Monday evening that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to “exchange 200 prisoners”.
“Soon 200 prisoners will be exchanged following an agreement between the parties,” the Turkish head of state said, considering this an important step in this conflict.
Erdogan gave no further details about this agreement, nor about those involved – civilians or soldiers – during this interview in Turkish.
The Turkish president, who has maintained his ties with Moscow and Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, regularly offers to mediate in this conflict and reiterates that “an agreement must be found that satisfies all “.
Erdogan arrived in New York on Saturday, in the United States, where he will speak before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people having fled — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.2 million to European countries — according to the latest UN data, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and impose it on Russia. political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 5,916 dead civilians and 8,616 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, stressing that these numbers are far below the actual number.
Source: DN
