Türkiye is determined to maintain open dialogue channels in all international conflicts and will continue facilitating platforms that will ease mediation efforts, its communications chief said Friday after a historic prisoner swap in Ankara between Russia and the U.S.
“This constitutes an example for the resolution of all regional problems,” Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said in a post on X.
The historic exchange has since drawn international praise, including from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who on Friday said he was relieved over the release of German detainees as a result of the swap with Russia and Belarus.
Scholz, who met with several freed prisoners following their arrival at Cologne/Bonn Airport, said: "That was very moving. Many people feared for their health and also for their lives. That has to be said very clearly and that is why it is also important that we have now made this protection possible for them here."
Many people did not expect this to happen, he added.
Scholz had previously described the prisoner exchange with Russia and its partner Belarus as a difficult decision.
Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Thursday led a successful prisoner exchange involving seven countries in one of the most extensive swap operations in recent years.
Turkish intelligence effectively utilized intelligence diplomacy to mediate the prisoner exchange, and brought all sides together in Türkiye in July, security sources said.
A total of 26 individuals were exchanged, transported to the Turkish capital Ankara on seven aircraft — one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and two from the U.S., according to security sources. Belarus was also involved in the swap.
Two planes with a total of 13 people had previously landed in Ankara, where the prisoner exchange was taking place. Ten hostages, including two children, were transferred to Russia, while 13 were sent to Germany and three to the U.S.
Prominent figures among those released include Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and U.S. Marine Paul Whelan imprisoned by Russia over espionage claims, Russian dissident Ilya Yashin and FSB colonel Vadim Krasikov imprisoned in Germany, and German mercenary Rico Krieger imprisoned in Belarus.
Gershkovich, 32, was detained in Russia in March 2023 and convicted in July on espionage charges in a fast-track trial denounced as a sham by the U.S.
Hopes had risen in recent days after a number of high-profile prisoners in Russia, including Whelan, went missing from prisons where they were serving long terms, fueling speculation they were being moved ahead of a swap.
As a rule, swaps can only happen after a conviction in Russia, and the disappearance of several high-profile political prisoners at once is extremely rare.
The prisoners were placed on flights with the approval and instructions of MIT and the return of the aircraft of participating nations was also authorized by MIT.
Considered the most extensive swap between Russia and Western countries since World War II, MIT paved the way for channels of dialogue for the operation in July 2024, when all sides were brought together in Türkiye.
The agency effectively implemented mediation activities and intelligence diplomacy and was in charge of the whole operation. It supervised the exchange process, ensured security measures, and logistical planning, facilitated communication and coordination between the parties and also conducted medical checks of prisoners and other requests by exchanging parties.
This was the first prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since star U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner was swapped in return for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.
It was also the biggest exchange since 2010, when 14 alleged spies were exchanged between Russia and the West. They included double agent Sergei Skripal, who was sent by Moscow to Britain and undercover Russian agent Anna Chapman, sent by Washington to Russia.
Before then, major swaps involving more than a dozen people had only taken place during the Cold War, with Soviet and Western powers carrying out exchanges in 1985 and 1986.
Always emphasizing regional stability and neighborly relations, Türkiye is among a few countries that have maintained good ties with Russia and Ukraine during the conflict between the two countries.
It has positioned itself as an intermediary in the Russia-Ukraine war. It brokered a grain deal under the shadow of conflict and hosted prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine and offers to act as a mediator for finding a permanent solution.
