An exchange of 26 prisoners between Russia and several Western countries, including US journalist Ivan Gershkovich and former US Navy sailor Paul Whelan, was co-ordinated in Ankara, the Turkish presidency said on Thursday.

“The Turkish intelligence agency carried out in Ankara the largest prisoner exchange operation in recent times, which included the exchange of 26 people who were in the prisons of seven different countries (the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus),” the Turkish presidency said in a statement, explaining that “ten prisoners, including two minors, were transferred to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the United States.”

The prisoners were flown to Turkey on seven planes, including “two from the US and one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Slovenia, Norway and Russia as part of the prisoner exchange process”, the source said, adding that “ten prisoners, including minors, were transferred to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the US”.