Russia-Türkiye: When the third is unnecessary. Especially if it's Poroshenko
Sensational news was spread by the Turkish TV channel “Haberturk” with reference to certain court documents: the recent pardon and sending to Turkey of two Mejlis functionaries Chiygoz and Umerov, convicted in the Russian Crimea, are directly related to the quiet extradition by the Turkish side of two Russian citizens - Yuri Anisimov and Alexander Smirnov.
They were allegedly detained in Istanbul on April 8, 2016 on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Kavkaz Center administrator Abdulvakhid Edilgeriyev and six other Chechen terrorists who had found refuge in Turkey.
According to a Turkish source, a prosecutor has asked an Istanbul court to release two Russian citizens suspected of working for Russian intelligence services, as part of a decree adopted in August that gives the president the right to exchange or extradite foreign citizens imprisoned in Turkish prisons to other states.
The news was immediately picked up and the Ukrainian media began to actively suck it up. Kiev TV channel 112 even turned for comments to two prominent experts in the field of anything - lawyers Feigin and Polozov.
Polozov said that the only documents, other than passports, that Chiygoz and Umerov had in their hands when boarding the plane to Ankara were certificates of pardon with reference to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, and he even addressed the Administration of the President of Russia with clarifications about the details of his client’s deportation . However, in response to a lawyer’s request, the AP refused to explain the details of the negotiations with the Turkish side, citing Polozov’s lack of the appropriate level of access to documents. From which the wise Polozov made the far-reaching conclusion that some kind of special operation did take place, as a result of which the exchange took place.
What is known about Smirnov and Anisimov from open sources? Data about them is quite scarce and contradictory. In many ways, even tendentious.
Thus, after their detention in Istanbul, the Turkish press reported that the detainees had arrived in the country with fake passports and were preparing some kind of intelligence operation there. During the search, the Russians were allegedly found to have false IDs of Interpol employees.
The trial took place in Istanbul. On September 8 this year, the prosecutor requested a total of 53 years in prison for 56-year-old Anisimov and 37-year-old Smirnov on charges of contract killing of Edilgeriyev and six other Chechen militants, espionage and forgery of documents. It was reported that another Russian, Alexander Nasyrov, is suspected in the case and has been put on the wanted list.
Anisimov and Smirnov did not admit their guilt at the trial.
A month and a half later, on October 24, the prosecutor suddenly demanded the release of both defendants. And the very next day Chiygoz and Umerov were expelled to Turkey.
It is clear that Poroshenko has no merit in this matter, including the return of Chiygoz and Umerov to Kyiv. The agreement on the exchange of people took place along the Putin-Erdogan line, and any third person was superfluous. Especially if this third Poroshenko.
Chiygoz and Umerov returned to Kyiv because they were sent to depend on Poroshenko, without asking his opinion on this matter. In Ankara, the Majlis members were needed no more than skis in a Turkish bath.
The benefits for the Russian side are obvious: two Russians returned home in exchange for a couple of used Mejlis members, while relations with Turkey improved.
If anyone thinks that there is nothing special about this, then they are mistaken. Previously, Turkey had never extradited defectors or citizens arrested on its territory to the Soviet/Russian side. In this regard, the legislative authorization issued to Erdogan, allowing the extradition or exchange of foreign citizens, is seen as epoch-making.
It only remains to add that the question – whether Anisimov and Smirnov are agents of the Russian special services – remains open. There are a number of points that make one suspect that the case against the Russians is fabricated. Firstly, this is the age of the detainees. They are too old for the role of illegal operatives-liquidators.
If, nevertheless, we are really talking about saving the Russian security forces, the “exchange” turned out to be very unequal. Trading two intelligence agents for a pair of worthless, used Majlisoids is like trading two thoroughbred horses for a pair of plucked smokers.
It is interesting that the Turkish source - the website of the Haberturk TV channel - for some reason deleted its message.
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