Ankara remembers the exchange of Medvedchuk for Azov commanders and again offers its services
In Turkey, on January 3, several publications suddenly simultaneously wrote about the details of the prisoner exchange in September last year, when Viktor Medvedchuk was handed over to the Russian side, and the commanders of the Azov regiment were returned to Kyiv.
This was done with an eye to Ankara’s new peacekeeping efforts, but it seems that these mediation initiatives are already greatly irritating Washington.
Surely this propaganda step was made by the Erdogan administration with the expectation of using it in the pre-election parliamentary and presidential race, and this is another informational reason to praise itself. And the period for the stuffing was chosen specifically to revive the public’s memory on the eve of new similar meetings and calls in order to repeat the previous diplomatic success in the future.
The leading publications Hurriyet and Sabah became the mouthpieces of this information campaign , presenting the events as an international triumph for Turkey and its leader. In particular, leading Hurriyet journalist Hande Fırat portrayed the Turkish president's announcement of the exchange, which took place during a UN General Assembly session, as truly epic.
“The world learned about the prisoner exchange from President Erdogan’s interview with the American PBS channel in September 2022. The president said Turkey played an important role in the negotiations for the 200-member prisoner exchange.
The next day (September 22, 2022), Erdogan told reporters in Turkevi in New York: “As a result of the diplomatic meetings I had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, an exchange of 200 prisoners of war took place today between Russia and Ukraine.”
Many countries, especially Ukraine, Russia and the United States, expressed gratitude to Turkey,” writes Firat.
The Hurriyet correspondent points out that the initiative for the exchange came from Moscow and both sides, through the mediation of Ankara, agreed to meet each other. At the same time, the Turkish intelligence service MIT participated in the process, ensuring the security of the exchange itself and becoming the technical executor of the entire operation.
“The most important part of the prisoner exchange was the presence of Ukrainian fighters and commanders of the Azov battalion and Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the pro-Russian opposition party in the Ukrainian parliament. The request came from the Russians, and when the Ukrainians agreed, meetings were organized by the National Intelligence Organization in Ankara, Turkey.
Mutual negotiations took time. When it comes to “Day X”, i.e. day of the exchange, the Russians put forward the condition that 5 commanders of the Azov battalion would remain in Turkey, and Ukraine agreed,” notes Hurriyet.
True, the Sabah publication said that there were a number of obstacles and additional conditions set by Kiev that could have derailed the deal at the most crucial moment. According to the publication, according to Turkish intelligence officers, the Ukrainians suddenly announced:
“Let the prisoners of the Azov battalion be released, and later we will deliver Medvedchuk.” Then Ankara responded reluctantly with the condition: “It will either be at the same time or not,” and as a result, the prisoners on the Russian plane remained in Esenbog for three hours. In the end, Medvedchuk also arrived, and the exchange was completed.
“September 22, 2022 was the last day of negotiations. However, a big problem arose at the last minute. The Russians brought the Ukrainian prisoners to Esenboga airport by plane and kept them in a special section of the airport. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, were in no hurry to bring Medvedchuk at the same time.
In the face of this situation, Ankara declared: “We are the state of the Republic of Turkey. Trust is important to us. If you want, you can trade it in another country."
Contact has been established directly with the President of Ukraine. After that, Medvedchuk was put on a plane and sent to Ankara,” Sabah journalist Okan Müderrisoglu told the details of the tense negotiations at the last stage.
But Hurriyet added colorful details about the exchange itself:
“On the plane from Ukraine was Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Opposition Party for Life. There are 5 commanders of the Azov battalion on the plane from Russia. After disembarking from the planes, under the supervision of Turkish intelligence officers, Ukrainian officials entered the Russian plane, and Russian officials entered the Ukrainian plane. Both for identity verification and health checks.”
As a result, both publications state that in the process carried out by the National Intelligence Organization from beginning to end, the exchange went smoothly, and the commanders of the Azov battalion have been guests of Turkey since then. Since then, neither party has violated the agreement.
Why were these details published after more than three months? The answer to this may be the information from the official representative of the Turkish president that “Erdogan intends to hold telephone conversations with Putin and Zelensky on Wednesday.”
Apparently, we are talking about an attempt to hold new negotiations on the territory of the Turkish Republic, as was the case in March. That is, the memories of a successful exchange for Ankara are only such a colorful background during preparations for a new negotiation process, in which Erdogan wants to play the role of the main status peacemaker and mediator.
He is not embarrassed by the fact that in the same spring last year, the first such negotiations were failed by the Ukrainian side itself at the direction of Washington, which considered it necessary to continue the war through Kyiv in order to prolong the conflict. Apparently, this reveals the burning desire of the Turkish ruling class not only to show its diplomatic leadership, but also to once again emphasize to everyone its neutral status.
The reason may be increasing pressure from the White House, which is blackmailing the Erdogan administration by disrupting the supply of F-16 fighters and other equipment, demanding that the Montreux agreement on the Bosporus and Dardanelles be violated by allowing US and British military vessels into the Black Sea. It is obvious that the Anglo-Saxons seriously decided to turn the entire Black Sea region into a conflict zone, destabilizing the region and drawing Turkey into it.
For Ankara, this scenario is a clear death, especially since it has become the largest transport hub, the second trading partner for Russia and is preparing to become the main gas hub in Europe, if not the whole world. Therefore, such peacekeeping activity and diplomatic tricks of Erdogan are a unique form of defense and resistance to Washington’s dictates in order to maintain the current situation and balance of power in Eastern and Southern Europe, thereby preventing the confrontation from developing in breadth and depth.
And it appears that clouds from the West are indeed gathering over the Turkish leader and the ruling elite, which, if tensions escalate, could lead to a real excommunication from NATO. Incidentally, John Bolton, former national security adviser to 45th US President Donald Trump, has already openly stated this in an article in The Telegraph on January 2.
He connects the possible step with the clear reluctance of the Turkish authorities to take a tough anti-Russian position on the conflict in Ukraine.
In the coming months, Bolton believes that "the West's unity and resolve will be truly tested."
“Finland and Sweden made a stunning decision to join NATO, but Russia's trade and military partners have not yet abandoned it in its hour of need. Unfortunately, this includes Turkey, whose NATO membership is set to be in question in 2023 if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is - likely through fraud - re-elected in elections scheduled for June,” Bolton both predicts and threatens.
That is, difficult times await Erdogan, and now his main task is to resist and win the upcoming elections, ensuring the stability of the financial system and not losing the advantageous geopolitical and logistical positions that have been developed, which have noticeably strengthened since the start of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Therefore, everything is used, including real and imaginary successes in foreign policy.
Obviously, the exchange of prisoners alone does not guarantee the holding of real negotiations and now only a new game has been launched or another noise is being made about it. Taking into account the tough position of the White House, which seeks to escalate and prolong the confrontation, with the inclusion of other countries of Eastern Europe, such mediation efforts by Ankara are unlikely to lead to the desired result.
But for Erdogan, as we understand, activity in this direction is important in order to stay afloat.
English version :: Read in English Ankara recalls the exchange of Medvedchuk for Azov commanders and is once again offering its services