Turkey firmly supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today during a meeting with Ukrainian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Our main goal is for the Black Sea to continue to be a sea of peace, calm and co-operation,” the Turkish president was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency.
In a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, o Erdogan called for an end to tensions in the region with a peaceful and diplomatic solution.
He reiterated Turkey’s initial position that it does not recognize the annexation of Crimea.
For his part, Zelensky expressed satisfaction with the “extremely critical support from Turkey” for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
He also noted that the defense industry is the driving force behind Ukraine’s strategic relationship with Turkey.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a pre-scheduled visit amid tensions between Kiev and Moscow over the conflict in Donbas, according to APE.
Kiev has signaled an increase in Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and an increase in violence along the line separating Ukrainian troops from Russian-backed separatists in Donbas.
Russian military moves have raised concerns that Moscow is preparing to send troops to Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat, but says it will stay as long as it sees fit.
The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine’s eastern border than at any other time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in Donbas. Turkey said yesterday that Washington would send two warships to the Black Sea next week.
Speaking at a news conference next to Zelensky, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic tradition, in accordance with international law and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“We hope that the alarming escalation on the ground will end as soon as possible, that the ceasefire will continue and that the conflict will be resolved through dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements,” Erdogan said. “We are ready to provide any support needed for this.”
The main battles in Donbas ended with a ceasefire agreed in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, with the help of France and Germany overseeing its implementation. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to enforce a ceasefire.
Zelensky said that the positions of Kiev and Ankara coincide in terms of threats to the Black Sea and the response to those threats, and added that he informed Erdogan “in detail” about the developments in Donbas.
“We discussed in detail the issues of security and the joint response to the challenges in the Black Sea region, and it is worth noting that the visions of Kiev and Ankara coincide in terms of the threats themselves and the ways to respond to those threats,” he said.
NATO member Turkey has forged close co-operation with Russia in conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defense and energy sectors. However, he criticized the annexation of Crimea and supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine. It has also sold unmanned aircraft to Kiev in 2019.
Erdogan said today that Turkey and Ukraine have launched a platform with their foreign and defense ministries to discuss co-operation in the defense industry, but added that this “is by no means a move against third countries”.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for escalating violence in the conflict, which Kiev says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.
In a telephone conversation with Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “dangerous provocative actions” in Donbas. Kiev said Ukraine could be provoked by a Russian-side worsening of the situation in Donbas.
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