Recepp Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity vis-à-vis Russia. But the Turkish president is careful not to put himself at odds with his Russian partner.
Turkey does not want tensions between Russia and Ukraine to increase. The Turkish president indicated this to his Ukrainian counterpart this Saturday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul.
Ukrainian officials are worried about sending Russian reinforcements to the border with Ukraine.
At the joint press conference, the Turkish president said he strongly defends Ukraine’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
« We have once again confirmed our decision not to recognize the annexation of Crimea », Added Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
For his part, the Ukrainian president spoke of the situation in the currently occupied territories: Donbass and Crimea. And he expressed to his counterpart his concerns about the ongoing militarization in these territories.
Don’t offend Moscow
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is working to spare his partners. On the one hand, there are the NATO allies – Turkey is a member of the Atlantic Alliance.
But on the other, there is Russia, with which the Turkish president recently signed an arms contract.
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