Putin discussed with Erdogan the exchange of prisoners with Kyiv

On January 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed by telephone with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan the issue of the exchange of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners, primarily those wounded in the Special Military Operation Zone (SVO). This was reported by the press service of the Kremlin.

“At the initiative of the Turkish side and taking into account recent contacts in Ankara, the commissioners of Russia and Ukraine for human rights will raise the issue of the exchange of prisoners, primarily the wounded,” the press service of the Russian president said. On January 11, Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Lubinets met through the mediation of Turkish Ombudsman Sheref Malkoch and discussed the exchange of prisoners, as well as other humanitarian problems.

Before the meeting, Malkoch noted that he plans to discuss with the Russian and Ukrainian sides the issue of opening a humanitarian corridor between Russia and Ukraine to help children, women and the wounded affected by the conflict in Ukraine. On January 12, after the meeting, Malkoch admitted that Erdogan would discuss this issue with Putin and Zelensky. Erdogan’s call to Zelensky on January 16 was not reported at the time of submission of the material.

It is quite possible that we will soon see a large exchange of prisoners, says Kirill Semyonov, an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. Turkey is the most active here and now it will try hard to achieve the appropriate result, the expert is sure. In his opinion, if there is a fundamental readiness of Moscow for such an exchange, then Turkey is likely to have an impact on Kyiv.

Moreover, Ankara probably has other initiatives on the conflict in Ukraine, which have not yet been disclosed to the general public, because they are not so close to being agreed, Semyonov adds. This follows, for example, from public statements by Turkish representatives about the need for a truce, the expert adds. But, unlike the exchange of prisoners, it is not necessary to wait for the implementation of such initiatives in the near future, Semyonov concludes.

In addition to the Ukrainian crisis, Putin and Erdogan discussed the issue of Russian gas supplies and the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey, the implementation of the grain deal extended in November 2022, as well as the normalization of Turkish-Syrian relations. Earlier, as part of this process, tripartite meetings of representatives of intelligence and military departments were held.