Russian And Turkish Foreign Ministers Hold Talks After President Zelensky Takes Five Ukrainian Commanders Home

JAKARTA - Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers held talks a day after Ankara angered Moscow for repatriating five Ukrainian military commanders.

The Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministries said Sergei Lavrov and Hakan Fidan discussed the situation in Ukraine, as well as the Black Sea seed export agreement that lifted the Russian de facto blockade at the Ukrainian port last year.

Moscow threatened to halt its grain export deal when it was due to be updated on July 17, saying the request to facilitate the sale of its own grains and fertilizers had not been fulfilled.

Furthermore, the Russian ministry said the two sides were focused on the latest developments around Ukraine, including the release of five Ukrainian Azov unit commanders who defended Mariupol City.

Azov's unit led the city's defense, staying at the steel mill for weeks until they were ordered by Kyiv to surrender.

The arrested Azov commander, considered a hero in Ukraine and slandered in Russia, was released in a prisoner swap in September, provided that required them to stay in Turkey until the war ended.

Last Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky took them home after visiting Turkey. That led Moscow to accuse Ankara of violating international agreements regarding Azov's commanders.

"We came home from Turkey and brought home our heroes," President Zelensky said, citing The National News.

He also noted the names of the released commanders, who would be reunited with their families.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said fighters should remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the terms of prisoner exchange. The Kremlin was not informed of their release, Peskov was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.

On the same occasion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan that the direction to continue supplying weapons to Kyiv was destructive, in telephone conversations.

"Ankara's attention is focused on the destructive direction of continuing the supply of weapons to the Kyiv regime. It is emphasized that such measures will only have negative consequences," the Russian Foreign Ministry said as quoted by TASS.

"Both sides exchanged views on the regional agenda with a focus on the latest developments around Ukraine, including the situation with the return of Azov commanders from Istanbul to Kyiv," the ministry said.

According to ministries, Lavrov and Fidan reiterated the importance of strengthening trust in relations between their countries.

"The two ministers reiterated the need to preserve and strengthen the nature of trust-based relations between Moscow and Ankara, based on a principle agreement between President Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan," the ministry said.

"Both sides also discussed the prospect of further cooperation on issues related to ensuring global food security, under conditions of Western countries' inability to take the necessary steps to implement the UN Secretary General's 'initiative package'," the ministry continued.