Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will pay a visit to Ukraine where he is scheduled to meet his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday amid heightened tensions with Russia.
Turkey “follows closely’’ the regional tensions and challenges, and backs the territorial integrity of its “strategic partner” Ukraine, Erdogan told reporters in Ankara ahead of his departure.
“We urge all parties to exercise restraint and maintain dialogue.
“The issues in the Black Sea region need to be resolved in a peaceful manner and under international law, and Turkey is ready to do its part to this end,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s visit follows his earlier offer to mediate peace talks in a summit with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.
While Kiev accepted the offer, the reaction from Moscow was rather muted.
Erdogan separately invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Ankara for one-to-one talks.
Moscow hasn’t confirmed yet.
Erdogan said Turkey and Ukraine will also sign a free trade agreement on Thursday among other planned deals.
NATO member, Turkey, maintains close ties with both Ukraine and Russia and works to help defuse tensions between Moscow and Kiev.
A Russian invasion of Ukraine “will not be a smart move,’’ Erdogan had said in an interview with broadcaster NTV last week.
In 2021, Turkey’s refusal to recognise the Crimean results of the Russian parliamentary election and its sales of combat drones to Ukraine stoked tensions between Ankara and Moscow.
Russia and Turkey are working together to find a solution to the Syrian conflict although they back opposing sides.
Russia remains the top supplier of natural gas for Turkey and sent the highest number of tourists to Turkey in 2022.
dpa/NAN
