July 10 () –
The United States authorities have disassociated themselves from the transfer to Ukraine of several Ukrainian commanders released by Russia under an agreement that implied that they would remain in Turkish territory and have said that they are “not in a position” to comment on what happened.
“We have not been a part of this and we are not in a position, really, to comment on what (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan was trying to achieve with it,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a conference press.
“I am not going to comment on his reasons for doing so. I think it is worth asking that question directly to Erdogan,” he said, according to a transcript of his statements provided by the White House through his website.
The transfer of these people to Ukraine took place after a visit by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky to Turkey, where he met with Erdogan. After that, he returned to kyiv with them as a result of a negotiation with Ankara that has provoked criticism from Moscow.
Indeed, Kremlini spokesman Dimitri Peskov said on Saturday that “the return of the leaders of the ‘Azovites’ — referring to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion — from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of existing agreements.
“Furthermore. In this case the terms have been breached by both Ukraine and Turkey,” he said. In response, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, stated that Moscow’s reaction “proves once again that the Russian Federation has no credibility on the international scene.”
Those released are the commander of the Azov unit of the Ukrainian National Guard, Denis Prokopenko; his lieutenant, Sviatoslav Palamar; the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhii Volinski; Azov Brigade officer Oleg Khomenko; and the commander of the 12th National Guard Brigade, Denis Shlegu, according to the Ukrainian Presidency.
