Umerov in Turkey: discussing the exchange of 1200 Ukrainians from captivity.

According to ТСН: Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov is on a working visit to Turkey, where he is discussing the country's mediation possibilities in the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Umerov needs to meet with Turkey's foreign minister and representatives of the Turkish intelligence.

“We are trying very hard to restore exchanges in the new year; this is the key topic in the conversation with Turkey. We need this assistance to bring our Ukrainians home from Russian captivity,” the Ukrainian president emphasized.

Zelensky also acknowledged that towards the end of last year, the issue of prisoner exchanges had “stalled.”

“Last year, exchanges were active, but unfortunately stalled by the end of the year; now we need to restore it,” he noted.

As a reminder, Rustem Umerov had previously spoken about the restoration of the prisoner exchange process, as a result of which 1200 Ukrainians will be returned from Russian captivity. The return of the captives was planned even before Christmas.

Also, GUR Ministry of Defense spokesperson Andriy Yusov did not provide specific dates for a possible exchange to avoid risks to the process, but gave an optimistic forecast.

These negotiations could be an important step in restoring the prisoner exchange process and returning Ukrainians home. Expectations and hopes for the results of this work are growing among the relatives of the captives and the Ukrainian society as a whole, as Turkey's involvement could provide new momentum in this complicated situation.