Dzhemilev: Turkey fights for the release of Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia Tuesday, January 1, 2019 7:32:00 PM

Ukrainian MP Mustafa Dzhemilev said in an interview with Ukrinform that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed the Turkish Foreign Minister to press Russia about the recent Kerch Strait issues.

"Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that President Erdogan instructed him to raise on all platforms the issue of free navigation through the Kerch Strait and the need to return our captured ships," said Dzhemilev.

Dzhemilev said the question about the imprisoned sailors’ release was also raised in a conversation with the Foreign Minister of Turkey. “[Cavusoglu] also said that from his prospective, Putin doesn’t want to solve this issue and release the sailors before the election. He considers such a release to be a "gift" to Poroshenko for the upcoming elections. Thus, he wants to use the situation as a tool to influence our elections,” said the People's Deputy.

Dzhemilev explained that the Russian President’s approach is cynical and contrary to both law and morality. “Using people for political purposes is a hostage system,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not rule out the possibility of mediation between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the issues in the Sea of Azov.

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