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Handover of Azov commanders to Kiev casts Turkey in bad light — Russian intel chief

"It does not make Turkey look good," Sergey Naryshkin added

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin Photo ITAR-TASS/ Mitya Aleshkovsky

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin

© Photo ITAR-TASS/ Mitya Aleshkovsky

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The situation around the handover of Azov nationalist battalion (outlawed in Russia) commanders to Kiev does not portray Turkey favorably, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin told TASS.

When asked to assess what Ankara had done, Naryshkin said: "It’s Turkey’s failure to fulfill its obligations on the issue." "It does not make Turkey look good," the SVR chief added.

In response to a clarifying question about whether the SVR had contacted Turkey on the matter, Naryshkin said: "No, we did not communicate after what happened."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday that he was returning home along with five commanders of the Azov Battalion who had been staying in Turkey. On Friday, Zelensky met with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Ukraine Sergey Naryshkin Turkey

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