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Lavrov declines to disclose details of talks with Turkish counterpart on Azov commanders

The top Russian diplomat said that Turkey had already made public comments on the issue

JAKARTA /Indonesia/, July 13. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday declined to disclose the details of talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan about the transfer of some commanders of the Azov nationalist battalion (which is designated as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) to Ukraine.

"I am not in the habit of sharing what my colleagues tell me during diplomatic talks. This is not in our tradition. It is more like the sin that our Western colleagues constantly commit," he said.

Lavrov said that Turkey had already made public comments on the issue.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on July 8 that five commanders of the Azov nationalist battalion, who had been staying in Turkey, were returning to Ukraine with him. Before that, he had met with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On July 9, Lavrov got on the phone to discuss the situation around the return of the Azov commanders to Ukraine with Fidan. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, during the conversation, which took place at the Turkish initiative, the sides reiterated the need to preserve and strengthen the trustful nature of relations between Moscow and Ankara. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia expects to receive clarifications on the situation around the release of Azov commanders to Kiev. According to the spokesman, Moscow will bear this situation in mind upon making any further agreements with Ankara.