ANKARA / KYIV (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for an end to “worrying” events in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding that Turkey was willing to provide the necessary support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held 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 Donbass conflict.
Kiev has sounded the alarm over the build-up of Russian forces near the Ukrainian-Russian border and the escalation of violence along the line of contact between Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists in Donbass. .
Russian military movements have fueled concern that Moscow is preparing to send forces to Ukraine. The Kremlin denies that its troops are a threat, but says they 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 time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea to Ukraine and supported separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea next week.
At a press conference alongside Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully through a dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in accordance with Ukraine’s international laws and territorial integrity.
“We hope that the worrying escalation recently observed in the camp will end as soon as possible, that the ceasefire will continue and that the conflict will be resolved through dialogue based on the Minsk agreements,” Erdogan said. “We are ready to provide any support needed for this.”
The major fighting in Donbass ended with an agreed truce in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, the implementation of which has helped control France and Germany. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a ceasefire.
Zelenskiy said the positions in Kiev and Ankara coincided with the Black Sea threats and the response to those threats, adding that he informed Erdogan “in detail” about Donbass’s developments.
“We discussed in detail the issues of security and joint countermeasures to the challenges of the Black Sea region and it is worth noting that the views of Kiev and Ankara coincide both on the threats themselves and on how to respond to these threats,” he said.
Turkey, a member of NATO, has forged close cooperation with Russia over the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the areas of defense and energy. But he has criticized the annexation of Crimea and supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine. He has also sold drones in Kiev in 2019.
Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine had launched a platform with their foreign and defense ministers to discuss defense industry cooperation, but added that “it was by no means a move against third countries.” .
Ukraine and Russia have been accused of increasing violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call with Erdogan on Friday, accused Ukraine of “dangerous provocative actions” in Donbass. Kiev said on Saturday Ukraine could be provoked by the Russian aggravation of the situation in Donbass.
Written by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Edited by Frances Kerry