Ankara/Berlin/Moscow/Washington (dpa/d.de) – Following a prisoner exchange, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has received 13 released prisoners in Germany. Russia, Belarus and several Western countries exchanged 26 prisoners at Ankara airport with the involvement of the Turkish secret service MIT. “It was a very moving scene,” said Scholz at Cologne/Bonn Airport. “Many feared for their health and also for their lives – that’s something we have to be very clear about. That’s why it’s so important for us to have enabled them to have this protection here.”
US President Joe Biden appeared before the cameras in Washington together with relatives of the Americans released from Russian custody: “I’m particularly indebted to the Federal Chancellor.” In view of the demands from Russia, he had had to ask Germany for “considerable concessions”, he said. Several partners had made “courageous” decisions by releasing prisoners who had been rightly detained in their countries – in order to ultimately enable Americans to return home.
Scholz described the exchange as the right decision. “And if you did have any doubts, they’d be gone after talking to the people who are now free.” He spoke of an obligation to protect German citizens and solidarity with the USA.
%20(2)%20(1).jpg "Global Lithium boardroom brawl continues")
Discussion about this post