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Russia asks Turkey for 'clarification' over Ukraine's Azov prisoner release

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also implicitly criticizes Turkey’s sale of Bayraktar drones to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Tehran, Iran, July 19, 2022.

ANKARA — The Kremlin said Monday that it was expecting a clarification from Turkey over Ankara's release of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Speaking at a press briefing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stressed the importance of the dialogue between the two countries. 

"It is very important that, unlike a number of countries of the so-called collective West, Turkey maintains a dialogue with us and, moreover, maintains it at a high and top level. We will use these channels of dialogue to clarify our position," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian media.

"We intend to continue our relations with the Republic of Turkey. They are truly versatile. And we will continue mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation ... But of course, in the course of our dialogue, we expect to receive clarifications from the Turkish side about what happened," he added.

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