Extensive prisoner swap coming, Turkey says amid reports of U.S.-Russia deal

Turkish intelligence announced connected Thursday that it was coordinating an extended prisoner exchange, amid signs of a awesome switch betwixt Russia and Belarus connected 1 broadside and nan United States, Germany and Slovenia connected nan other.

“A (prisoner) speech cognition will return spot coming nether nan coordination of our organization,” nan Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) said successful a statement.

“Our statement has undertaken a awesome mediation domiciled successful this speech operation, which is nan astir broad of nan caller period.”

Both nan Kremlin and nan White House declined to remark erstwhile asked astir a imaginable exchange.

Flight search tract Flightradar24 showed that a typical Russian authorities level utilized for a erstwhile captive switch involving nan United States and Russia had flown from Moscow to nan Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, earlier heading backmost to nan Russian capital.

A Reuters newsman besides saw a Russian authorities level successful nan Turkish superior Ankara.

A number of U.S. nationals are being held successful Russian prisons, including jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Paul Whelan, a erstwhile U.S. marine, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident, some jailed successful Russia, person abruptly vanished from view, according to their lawyers. At slightest 7 Russian dissidents were unexpectedly moved from their prisons successful caller days.

A lawyer for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian held successful nan United States, declined connected Wednesday to corroborate nan whereabouts of his customer to nan authorities RIA news agency “until nan speech takes place.”

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RIA besides reported that 4 Russians jailed successful nan United States had vanished from a database of prisoners operated by nan U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. It named them arsenic Vinnik, Maxim Marchenko, Vadim Konoshchenok and Vladislav Klyushin.

Dissidents inside Russia whose supporters opportunity they person been told that they person been abruptly moved successful caller days see guidance politician Ilya Yashin, quality authorities activist Oleg Orlov and Daniil Krinari, convicted of secretly cooperating pinch overseas governments.

In nan West, nan dissidents are seen by governments and activists arsenic wrongfully detained governmental prisoners. All have, for different reasons, been designated by Moscow arsenic vulnerable extremists.

Among those Moscow has signaled it wants is Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving life successful Germany for murdering an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident successful a Berlin park.

A Slovenian tribunal connected Wednesday sentenced 2 Russians to clip served for espionage and utilizing clone identities, and said they would beryllium deported, nan authorities news agency STA reported, a move a Slovenian TV transmission said was portion of nan wider exchange.

Reuters could not independently corroborate that.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn successful Moscow and Filipp Lebedev and Lucy Papachristou successful London; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Ros Russell and Jon Boyle)