Russia criticises return of Ukrainian commanders from Turkey
The Kremlin on Saturday criticised Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski's repatriation of several Ukrainian commanders who were to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict under an agreement between Moscow and Kiev, AFP and Agerpres report.
The Ukrainian presidency confirmed that it had obtained the return of these members of the Azov regiment after "negotiations with the Turkish side". They were met at Istanbul airport by President Volodimir Zelenski, who is visiting Turkey.
"The return of the Azov commanders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the terms of existing agreements," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.
According to him, both Ukraine and Turkey have violated the terms of the agreement, which stipulated that the men would remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict.
Peskov linked the return to the "failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive" since early June and Ankara's desire to show "solidarity" ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July.
"Preparations for the NATO summit are ongoing and of course there has been a lot of pressure on Turkey," he said.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, who returned to his country after a visit to Turkey, arrived with five commanders of the former Mariupol garrison who had been forced to live in Turkey under the terms of a prisoner swap with Russia agreed last year, Reuters notes.
The commanders, considered heroes in Ukraine, led the defence of the port of Mariupol, the largest Ukrainian city captured by Russia during its invasion of the neighbouring country. Thousands of civilians were killed inside the city when Russian forces subjected Mariupol to a massive siege for three months.
