In the conditions of the actual freezing of the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, peacekeeping efforts in the humanitarian sphere remain in the spotlight.
In particular, the spokesman for the Turkish president, Ibrahim Kalin, stated that Ankara was offering Moscow the option of evacuating the defenders of Mariupol, who are besieged in the territory of «Azovstal», to Turkey by sea on the condition that they remain there until the end of the war.
In response, Ramzan Kadyrov asked Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to do this because the «Azov» battalion is a fascist-Nazi criminal armed formation and Russian Muslims will not understand the evacuation of «fierce opponents and defamers of Islam». We’ll talk about the «Azov» battalion a little later, but for now let’s focus on the practice of such evacuations.
Even the sadistic and bloodthirsty Bashar al-Assad, in order to minimize the losses of his forces and to have the opportunity to use the negotiation process for his own purposes, agreed to evacuate the rebels blocked by Assad’s forces to the areas controlled by them. This was the case even though these evacuated rebels continued to fight Assad on new fronts.
In this case, not only are the Azov soldiers offered to be exchanged for Russian prisoners, but they are also guaranteed that they will no longer fight against Russia in this war. But the Russian «hawks» refuse to release their prisoners, as well as to preserve the lives of their military personnel, which continue to be spent at the expense of «Azovstal» (contrary to Putin’s false statement).
So what does all this mean? It turns out that even such a bloody sadist as Assad was more rational than the «Russian worlders»? That’s right, because there is one meaning in all this, and it is not hidden by them — they need a ritual killing of Azov soldiers, for which they are ready to pay not only with the money of Russian military taxpayers (and constant bombing of «Azovstal», which could be obtained in exchange for evacuation, is a colossal expense), but also with additional lives of Russian military personnel.
What is the reason for such hatred towards the «Azov» battalion in Mariupol? First of all, it is their heroism, examples of which they have already shown during this defense and will be included in the latest military history. But if real warriors are capable of respecting the heroism of the enemy, recognizing their merits, then for this gang of executioners and involuntarily mobilized cannon fodder from «DPR» and «LPR» they only provoke envy and hatred.
Second, «Azov» is indeed an ideologically driven unit, which explains its resilience. And here we return to the question of its specificity. At present, this unit consists of nationalists in the modern sense of the word, who have more than once distanced themselves from Nazism and even accused the Kremlin of adhering to the Nazi ideology of the «final solution of the Ukrainian question» and using Nazi methods in relation to the Ukrainian people. As for nationalism, Erdogan’s main ally in Turkey is the Nationalist Movement Party, and nationalism is enshrined in the Turkish Constitution as one of its constitutional principles.
Of course, we are not talking about nationalism in the sense that it was understood in the USSR, that is, as hatred of other peoples, but in the generally accepted sense — as defense of one’s own interests. Another question is how to deal with this principle in the Islamic world when it comes to the introduction of national states into it — but this is a completely different story, and it does not apply to Ukraine as a non-Muslim state.
As for the attitude of the Azov soldiers towards Islam, it should be said that it has changed for the better in recent years, as evidenced by the presence of practicing Muslims among them, who have specifically turned to Erdogan for help. And if Turkey and Erdogan could save these people, it would strengthen this positive trend. First of all, Ukraine as a whole would be grateful to Turkey. And secondly, it would contribute to the goodwill towards them, especially towards the Azov soldiers, who are present all over Ukraine, not only in Mariupol.
Moreover, if these people remain in Turkey until the end of the war, they could be entrusted to Ukrainian Muslims and their Turkish partners, who could then educate them about Islam and Ottoman culture and history, including the sides of Ottoman-Ukrainian cooperation in the past. In this case, they would return to Ukraine as friends of Islam and Turkey, strengthening the corresponding sentiments in Ukrainian society.
Therefore, from whichever side you look at it, such a solution would be beneficial to everyone. It would benefit Islam and Ukrainian Muslims. It would be beneficial to Turkey and Turkish-Ukrainian cooperation. It would even be beneficial to Putin’s Russia, freeing it from unnecessary costs and losses. So let’s hope that all these considerations will outweigh the insane desire for revenge against the enemy, which has no military or political meaning.