Step forward: Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange 200 prisoners - Erdogan

According to Turkish President, the Russian Federation cannot claim in the territory captured as a result of a full -scale war. Vladimir Putin did not take any step to return Crimea. Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 200 captives through Turkish President Recep Erdogan. The Turkish leader reported this in an interview with the American TV channel PBS.

Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan at the Shanhai cooperation organization, they devoted a long time to this issue. "He (Putin) actually showed me that he was ready to complete it as soon as possible. As things go now, this is quite problematic, 200 prisoners are exchanged for the agreement of the parties," the head of Turkey informed. Thanks to the exchange of prisoners of war, the warring parties, according to Erdogan, will take a significant step forward.

However, he noted that Russia is not entitled to the territory, captured after the start of the military invasion of February 24. "If peace is established in Ukraine, the return of territories will be a very important issue . . . Putin takes some steps, we take them. The captured lands will return to Ukraine," Erdogan stressed. The Turkish President added that the start of a full -scale war in Ukraine cannot be justified.

On the issue of Ukrainian Crimea, after 2014, Putin did not take any step towards returning the peninsula, Erdogan summed up. We will remind that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky earlier declared readiness to renew exports of ammonia from Russia through Ukraine in exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war.