US and Its Allies Exchange 26 Prisoners With Russia in Ankara
Prisoner swap in ANkara, Türkiye, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo: X/ @AtillaYesilada1
August 1, 2024 Hour: 11:30 am
The prisoners arrived on planes from the U.S, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Russia.
On Thursday, the United States and its allies exchanged 26 prisoners with Russia at Ankara airport, under the coordination of the Turkish intelligence services (MIT).
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“Today, a coordinated exchange operation was carried out by our organization, which has played an important mediating role in this operation, the largest in recent times,” MIT said in a statement.
According to Turkish public broadcaster TRT, the prisoners arrived on planes from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Russia.
Ten people, including two minors, were transferred to Russia after the exchange at Ankara airport. Thirteen of the remaining 16 people flew to Germany and three to the United States.
The list of those released includes Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, U.S. serviceman Paul Whelan, German Rico Krieger who was sentenced to death in Belarus, Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin, and Vadim Krasikov, a Russian secret service officer imprisoned in Germany for the murder of a Chechen dissident.
MIT had been coordinating the preparations for this operation for some time, which involved a meeting between the parties in Turkey in July.
Turkish agents accompanied the prisoners during the exchange at the airport, handed them over to the respective delegations, and gave the green light for the planes to take off afterward.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE
