Russian troops returned from Ukrainian territory: MoD
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The returned Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical support.
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Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers fly past a Russian flag at the Kremlin complex during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, on May 4, 2018 (AP)
A new group of Russian service members has been returned from Ukrainian territory, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.
"On June 26, in accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 this year in Istanbul, another group of Russian servicepeople was returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime," the ministry stated.
In exchange, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was handed over to Ukraine.
The returned Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical support. According to the ministry, they will soon be transferred to medical facilities in Russia for further treatment and rehabilitation.
Russia urges West to drop hostility, warns against NATO threat
Russia does not view itself as an enemy of the West and remains open to dialogue, provided the West abandons its confrontational stance toward Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Monday.
In remarks to Russia’s RIA Novosti, Grushko emphasized that Moscow’s foreign policy concept is not guided by hostility. “We do not consider ourselves enemies of the West. We are ready for dialogue, but only if our opponents abandon their confrontational policy against Russia and halt eastward expansion,” he said. Grushko also underscored that any dialogue must be based on “sovereign equality and mutual respect for national interests.”
His comments come in response to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s recent suggestion that relations with Russia should eventually return to normal after the end of the Ukraine war. Grushko was skeptical of the prospect, saying Rutte’s vision represents “a very long-term perspective that is nowhere on the horizon yet.”
Earlier, in an interview for Bloomberg, Rutte stated that it is natural for Europe and the US to seek a gradual normalization of relations with Russia after the conflict concludes. “The war will have to fade eventually, and with it, so too must our estrangement,” he remarked.
