Türkiye did excellent job in prisoner swap with Russia: US envoy
Serkan Demirtaş – ANKARA
U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeff Flake has reiterated Washington's gratitude, commending Türkiye and its intelligence agency (MİT) for their outstanding role in the highly complex prisoner swap between Russia and the United States.
“I am not sure if any other country could have pulled it off like Türkiye did. We are very appreciative of that,” Flake told a group of reporters in Ankara yesterday.
Flake, a former member of the U.S. Congress from Arizona, came together with the reporters to bid farewell as he is preparing to leave Türkiye after three years in office.
One of the recent developments before the ambassador’s mandate ends in Türkiye was MİT's facilitation of a comprehensive prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia. It was regarded as the largest swap between the two rivals since the Cold War era.
“A huge thank you from the U.S. for Türkiye’s role in the large prisoner swap that happened just a few weeks ago. President [Joe] Biden called President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and thanked him directly. This was the most complicated process, involving seven countries and seven planes, converging in Ankara. It was significant. Türkiye was extremely helpful,” the envoy said.
On a question of why Türkiye was chosen as the location for the prisoner swap, Flake recalled: “When basketball player Brittney Griner was released, there was a swap that happened here as well.”
Türkiye has used its good offices for swaps between Russia and Ukraine, the ambassador reminded, saying, “As I said, this was a very complex swap, and Türkiye has a very professional bureaucracy and intelligence services. MİT did an excellent job with this. Just keeping this under wraps is a tough thing when you are dealing with so many entities. I am not sure if any other country could have pulled it off like Türkiye did. We are very appreciative of that.”
Türkiye indispensable ally
During the interview, Flake evaluated his three-year mandate in Türkiye and the current state of bilateral ties as well.
“I cannot believe it’s been three years. In my confirmation hearings at the Senate three years ago, I mentioned that Türkiye was a consequential country and an indispensable ally,” Flake recalled, stressing that Ukraine was invaded by Russia only six weeks after he arrived here.
“We were very pleased that, five days into that war, Türkiye brought in the Montreux Convention. That was a significant move and a significant benefit to Ukraine’s defense,” he said, adding Türkiye was also among the allies who voted in favor of Sweden and Finland’s joining the alliance, although the process of the former took longer than thought.
The U.S. approved the sale of 40 new F-16s and 79 modernization kits for Türkiye’s existing fleets, the ambassador said. “Trade relations are also good. People-to-people ties, tourism ties, and education cooperation are growing. In terms of security, commercial, or people-to-people ties, I think we are in a better place than we have been.”
In response to a question on how Türkiye is perceived at the Senate, Flake said: “In Congress, we are in a much better place. For my part, whenever there is an incident where Türkiye played a useful role, say in Ukraine or this prisoner swap, I send a message to my former colleagues on Capitol Hill saying, ‘Here is what Türkiye did and only they can do it.’”
Level of trust between Türkiye and US
Recent mutual efforts between Türkiye and the U.S. had helped the two allies to build more trust in their relationship, Flake said. “In terms of the confidence between the two countries, I have seen a transformation on Capitol Hill. Over the past couple of years, the number of congressional delegations coming to Türkiye increased. They held talks with government officials, the business world, and civil society and carried back a better understanding of Türkiye and what it is doing for the alliance,” he said.
With a few months to go to the presidential elections in the U.S., the ambassador also touched on the future of bilateral ties, stressing that “because the Congress plays a significant role on foreign policy as well, you don’t see massive swings between administrations. Sure, administrations come with their own priorities, but having said that, Congress will weigh in as well. And believe me, when I talk to my former colleagues at the Senate about politics and Türkiye, there is not a partisan divide. That tells me that whichever administration we have next year, you are not going to see massive swings in terms of our relationship.”
