Turkey negotiates evacuation of injured from Mariupol using ships - Zelenskyy
ALYONA MAZURENKO - WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2022, 20:05
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that dialogue is now underway with Turkey to get Russia to allow the evacuation of the injured from Mariupol.
Source: Zelenskyy's interview with the Turkish TV channel Habertürk
According to Zelenskyy: "Turkey is one of the mediators. Today we are talking about taking the injured out of Mariupol. It is too early to say what the result of this operation will be. It is wide open.
Turkey has a mediating role here, as we are planning to do it using Turkish ships."
Details: Zelenskyy said that as president he has to engage in dialogue with Russia even after what he saw in Bucha, although he does not have much desire to do so because now he understands who he is dealing with.
Therefore, other countries, particularly Turkey, will mediate.
Background:
- Mariupol has been under blockade since early March. The Russian military is preventing humanitarian aid, shelling civilians and dropping bombs on civilian buildings where children are sheltering.
- At the end of March, the Mariupol City Council called for the rescue of people in Mariupol who are starting to die of starvation.
- On 31 March, the Azov National Guard regiment command called on the Ukrainian military and political leadership to conduct an operation to lift the blockade of Mariupol.