The prisoner exchange in Ankara was possible thanks to the involvement of our country, Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media. The largest prisoner exchange in Russia and Western countries since the Cold War took place in the Turkish capital on Thursday.
The largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War took place in Ankara on Thursday. Russia and Western countries. As reported by the Turkish service Anatolia, the operation involved 24 people from prisons in seven countries, including Poland, as well as two children.
The Prime Minister wrote about the action on the X website (formerly Twitter) Donald Tusk.
“The prisoner exchange operation has just ended, thanks to which heroes of the Russian opposition and citizens of NATO countries detained in Russia have left Russia. The operation was possible thanks to the involvement of our country. I would like to thank the President and the services for their exemplary cooperation,” we read in the post by the head of government.
Prisoner exchange campaign
According to Turkish authorities, 10 people, including two minors, were relocated to Russia, 13 to Germanthree to USA. The exchange included people from prisons in “the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus”. The operation is coordinated by Turkish intelligence. Anatolia Agency, citing intelligence sources, reported that the participants of the exchange were transported to the capital Turkey on board seven planes.
The prisoner exchange operation between Russia and the US and its Western allies was carried out in AnkaraEPA
A GRU agent is among the prisoners.
The independent Russian website Insider reported on Thursday that as part of the exchange, Poland is releasing Pavel Rubtsov, an agent of the GRU military intelligence agency, who was detained by Poland on the Polish-Ukrainian border on February 27, 2022. He posed as a Spanish journalist and used the name Pablo Gonzalez. He allegedly used his status as a journalist to gather information on Ukraine for the Russian special services, his goal was also to gain the trust of Russian oppositionists. In recent days, the media and defenders human rights speculated that an exchange could take place, as several Russian dissidents and people convicted of speaking out against Russia's war in Ukraine have been reported to have “disappeared” from Russian penal colonies. Reuters, citing anonymous sources, wrote that the exchange process in Ankara is ongoing. The health of those taking part in the exchange is being checked, among other things.
Main image source: PAP/EPA