 Turkish President explains why he handed over Asovstal commanders to Ukraine despite Russia's stance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes that the permission to take Asovstal defenders to Ukraine has finally turned into a positive in relations with Russia. Erdogan said that the agreement that the military commanders who defended the Asovstal steelworks in Mariupol should remain in Turkey has reached bilaterally between Ukraine and Russia. Turkey provided them with asylum to fulfill the Russian-Ukrainian agreement. Initially, it was the result of a discussion between Ukraine and Russia and they were with us, he explained. Erdogan said he handed over the Asovstal defenders only because President Volodymyr Zelensky asked him to. When we received this request, we handed over these commanders, the Turkish President said. However, he does not believe that this has affected relations with Russia. At first, Russia was outraged and then it turned into a positive thing. He said, predicting that the topic would be discussed at his meeting with Putin in September. Erdogan said that Russia had changed its stance on the release of former commanders of Ukraine's garrison in Mariupol after an initial negative statement on the issue.