Russian MP calls for tribunal of Azov members, not swap
A prominent Russian MP refutes media reports that quoted him as saying captured Azov members should be swapped.
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The head of the LDPR party faction in the Russian Duma Leonid Slutsky (TASS)
Leonid Slutsky, the head of the LDPR party faction in the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, and the chairman of the Duma’s International Affairs Committee, dismissed earlier media reports that quoted him as saying that swapping Azov militants for Ukraine's opposition leader was being discussed.
Slutsky said on his Telegram channel that members of the extremist Azov Battalion should be placed before a tribunal.
"My opinion remains unchanged: there must be no exchange of members of the Azov [battalion], which is outlawed in Russia. Their fate should be determined by a tribunal."
The MP had led a delegation of lawmakers from the LDPR party to meet with the leader of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, in Donetsk on Saturday.
Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov said Friday that the Russian Armed Forces have seized the Azovstal steel manufacturing plant in Mariupol, revealing that Moscow now has full control of the plant, including its underground facilities.
"The territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol, where a group of Ukrainian militants from Nazi formation Azov has been blocked since April 21 this year, has been completely liberated," Konashenkov told a briefing. The militants were mainly hiding in the plant's underground facilities.
2,439 Azov militants and Ukrainian soldiers have laid down their arms and surrendered since May 16, the Spokesperson added.
