Erdoğan: Commanders of Mariupol garrison handed over to Ukraine at Zelenskyy's request

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the commanders of the Mariupol garrison had been handed over to Ukraine at Zelenskyy's request.

He made the statement during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Yevropeiska Pravda reports.

The agreement that the military commanders should remain in Türkiye was reached bilaterally between Ukraine and Russia. Türkiye provided the commanders with asylum to implement the Russian-Ukrainian agreements.

Apparently, Türkiye was not a party to these negotiations.

"At first, it was the result of a discussion between Ukraine and Russia, and by Friday [July 7], they [the commanders of the Mariupol defenders] were with us... When we received this request, we handed over these commanders," Erdoğan said.

He also added that it had a positive impact on relations with Russia.

"At first, Russia was outraged, and then it turned into a positive thing," the Turkish president said.