Turkey has angered Vladimir Putin by releasing commanders of the Ukrainian Azov regiment who were being held under a prisoner swap deal.
Russian commentators demanded a tough response to Turkey’s “betrayal” and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it a “breach” of trust.
“Nobody informed Russia about the transfer,” Mr Peskov said. “They were supposed to stay in Turkey until the end of the conflict.”
Mr Peskov was reacting to a video of the commanders of the Azov regiment hugging Volodymyr Zelenksy and other members of the Ukrainian government after being handed over to an airport in Turkey and then flying to Ukraine on Saturday.
Mr Zelensky was in Turkey for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s president, who has also pledged to support Ukraine’s aspirations to NATO membership.
“Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO,” Erdogan said after talks with the Ukrainian president on Friday in Istanbul. Ukraine’s NATO membership is to be discussed at the annual NATO summit in Vilnius this week.
Turkey is a member of NATO, but maintained trade and air relations with Russia when Europe cut off contact after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February last year.
When Putin faced a rebellion two weeks ago by his Wagner mercenary unit, Mr Erdogan was one of the few international leaders to support him. He also hosted failed peace talks and brokered a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through its Black Sea ports.
Mr Erdogan has said Putin will visit Turkey in August for rare talks abroad, but analysts said his prisoner release deal with Mr Zelensky could show he is starting to support the EU more strongly. Ukraine.
“President Erdogan understands Putin better than many,” said Konstantin Sonin, a professor of public policy at the University of Chicago. “Putin doesn’t listen to words, but can get a message if the message is tangible action.”
The Azov Regiment defended Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine against the Russian army during the first months of the invasion. The Kremlin accused the regiment of being a sanctuary of fascism and presented it as proof that Ukraine harbors Nazis.
Under a prison swap deal reached last September, 215 Ukrainian soldiers were exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of Putin, and 55 other Russian soldiers. Ordinary soldiers from the Azov regiment were sent back to Ukraine but their commanders were sent to Turkey where Mr Erdogan promised to keep them until the end of the war.
Now in Moscow, Russian experts believe Mr. Edrogan has betrayed Russia and the spirit of the prisoner swap deal. Sergei Markov, a pro-war commentator and former Kremlin adviser, said Putin needed a tough response.
“The consequences of this blatant violation of these agreements and the release of the Azov fascists must be very, very significant,” he said.
In Lviv, western Ukraine, the commanders of the Azov regiment were greeted as heroes and they immediately promised to return to battle.
Denis Prokopenko, one of the released commanders of the Azov regiment, said his “main objective” was to return to the front line.
“We will continue the fight,” he said. “We will definitely have our say in the battle again.”
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