Auguston the first days of the month Ankara, has hosted a valuable intelligence operation. Since the Cold War era United States of America (USA)with Russiathe largest made in the middle prisonerexchange Turkish intelligence ofwas carried out in harmony. Total 26in the operation where the detainee was exchanged, USAand 10 people detained in other Western countries were released; Russiawhereas 16 the prisonerleft.
In August Russia And USAin the middle Under the coordination of MITSpeaking about the prisoner swap that took place Russian President Putin, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Salmanwith Türkiye‘ as a field offering President ErdoganHe thanked.
Putin“belonging to this process” Crown Prince of Saudi ArabiaHe played an active role in this work. For this, we are grateful to him, as it ultimately led to the return of our citizens to their homeland. Mr. Erdogan, President of Türkiyeprovided Turkey as a platform for the final analysis of these problems. Just like some other countries, countries from the Arab world also showed good will here. As a result, I think we have reached a positive result that will be in the interest of everyone involved in this process.”he used his words.
‘There are few leaders who can mediate’
President ErdoganStating that the contributions of the process are valuable, Moscow State Language University, Institute of International Relations, Department of Overseas Regional Studiesin Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iqbal DurreHe used the following expressions:
“Russian President Putin always praises Turkey’s mediation efforts in the context of the Ukraine War, and speaks of them in a complimentary tone, and Erdoğan’s previous efforts in this regard have also yielded results. Therefore, I think it is valuable for him to mention this once again. Indeed, these anchors of Turkey have a different value in the process we are going through, especially in the context of the events in Kursk, especially regarding the prisoners taken. Most probably in connection with the US elections, peace talks in the Ukraine war or the freezing talks of the Ukraine special operation are also coming to the fore in the Western press. Therefore, there is such an expectation in 2025. When we look at it from this perspective, prisoner exchanges before this are valuable in terms of calming the situation a bit for the parties and perhaps preparing for possible peace talks. Therefore, there are few countries and leaders in the world who can do this, and it is natural that Erdoğan is one of them and that this is voiced by Putin.”
‘Saudi Arabia’s attitude is important for Russia’
Drawing attention to Prince Salman’s stance on this issue, as well as Erdoğan’s, Dürre continued his words as follows:
“In the recent period, we see that Russia and Saudi Arabia will develop a constructive and pragmatic bond that is in line with the interests of both countries in the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. This stance of Saudi Arabia was especially valuable for Russia in terms of strengthening Russia’s position in the world oil markets. Saudi Arabia, Prince Salman, carried out a policy that took Russia’s sensitivities into consideration in this regard. Of course, this kind of economic cooperation or this kind of economic mutual understanding is also reflected in human dimensions. We saw this during the prisoner exchange process. If you pay attention, the leaders of countries where economic relations are sound and there is a mutual understanding come to the forefront more in such political group initiatives that will bring results. In other words, after all, playing the role of a mediator in a prisoner exchange is also a valuable image for the leader of that country in the international arena. As far as I understand, Russia wants to give such an advantage to the leaders of countries that carry out a policy in understanding with it or wants to see them in this role. The fact that Prince Salman’s role in this matter will continue shows that Saudi Arabia will implement a policy that takes Russia’s sensitivities into consideration in the field of oil and gas trade, which is of great interest to Russia. This is also valuable.”
‘There are good relations with the countries that take part in the prisoner exchange’
Noting that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s relations with Russia have made positive contributions to the process, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iqbal Durre stated the following:
“If the connections with that country had followed a negative trend or would have followed a negative trend, if there was such a risk, Putin would not have made such a statement. I look at it from this perspective, that is, the political and reputational aspect of this business, as well as the humanitarian aspect, but there is also an economic cooperation that feeds this from below. The same applies to Turkey. In fact, if you pay attention, the policies implemented by the countries involved in this prisoner exchange against Western sanctions in response to Russia are generally more constructive and cautious, although they are probably not exactly as Russia expected. Therefore, one result of these economic relations and political interests is the humanitarian aspect, and Russia naturally wants to share this with the heads of such countries, as I said.”
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