President Erdoğan: We have always supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine held a joint press conference following their meeting.
“OUR COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE GROWS DEEPER ON THE BASIS OF MUTUAL BENEFIT”
Expressing his pleasure to host President Zelensky of Ukraine, Turkey’s Black Sea neighbor, President Erdoğan stated that the bilateral relations were thoroughly discussed during their meeting.
“Our cooperation grows deeper on a wide spectrum extending from defense industry and education to tourism and healthcare on the basis of mutual benefit. We have reaffirmed at the talks our shared will to take our economic and trade cooperation to new levels by means of increased investments,” President Erdoğan said.
“TURKEY HAS NOT RECOGNIZED CRIMEA’S UNLAWFUL ANNEXATION, NOR WILL IT”
Underlining that Turkey stands by the Ukrainian people in the fight against the pandemic, President Erdoğan stressed Turkey’s readiness for further support when the need arises.
Noting that additional steps to be taken for the strengthening of security cooperation and for the mutual extradition of criminals were also discussed during their talks, President Erdoğan stated that they agreed on enhancing the cooperation and coordination in the fight against FETO and other terrorist organizations.
Turkey sees Ukraine as a key country for stability, peace, security and prosperity in the region, President Erdoğan further stressed, and stated: “Within this scope, we have always supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea, as well as its political unity, and we will continue to do so. Turkey has not recognized Crimea’s unlawful annexation, nor will it. We, together with Ukrainian authorities, will maintain our support for our Crimean Tatar brothers and sisters, who are a crucial element of the historical and humanitarian ties between Turkey and Ukraine.”
“WE STAND READY TO PROVIDE EVERY ASSISTANCE IN OUR POWER FOR PEACE AND STABILITY IN OUR REGION”
Adding that the current situation in the east of Ukraine was also on their agenda, President Erdoğan said: “We hope that the ceasefire that has been in effect here since July 27 will hold. We stand ready to provide every assistance in our power for peace and stability in our region. In this regard, our support for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, headed by our ambassadors for the last two terms, will continue in the same fashion.”
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKY: “WE ARE READY TO DEEPEN OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH TURKEY”
Ukrainian President Zelensky, for his part, drew attention to the dynamic development of the dialogue between the two countries. Highlighting Ukraine’s readiness to deepen the strategic partnership and to boost the cooperation with Turkey in every area of mutual interest, President Zelensky pointed to the importance Kyiv attaches to Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
