ANKARA / KYIV (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for an end to “worrying” developments in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, and added that Turkey is ready to provide the necessary support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a previously scheduled visit, amid tensions between Kiev and Moscow over the conflict in Donbass.
Kiev has sounded the alarm about a build-up of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and about an increase in violence on the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass.
The Russian military movements have raised concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces to Ukraine. The Kremlin denies that its troops are a threat, but says it will stay as long as it sees fit.
According to the United States, Russia has amassed more troops on the eastern border of Ukraine than ever since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported the separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington would send two warships to the Black Sea next week.
At a news conference with Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through a dialogue based on diplomatic practices, in accordance with international law and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“We hope that the alarming escalation recently observed on the field 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. said. “We are ready to provide the necessary support for this.”
Major fighting in Donbass ended with a ceasefire agreed in the Belarussian capital Minsk in 2015, overseen by France and Germany. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a ceasefire.
Zelenskiy said the positions of Kiev and Ankara coincided with threats in the Black Sea and the response to the threats, adding that he had informed Erdogan ‘in detail’ about developments in Donbass.
“We have discussed in detail the issues of security and joint response to the challenges in the Black Sea region, and it is noteworthy that the visions of Kiev and Ankara coincide with the threats themselves and the ways in which they respond to them. he said.
NATO member Turkey has forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defense and energy areas. But it criticized the annexation of Crimea and supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It also sold drones to Kiev in 2019.
Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine were launching a platform with their foreign and defense ministers to discuss cooperation with the defense industry, but added that it was “by no means a step against third countries”.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed the increase in violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Erdogan of calling for “dangerous provocative actions” in Donbass in a call with Erdogan on Friday. Kyiv said on Saturday that Ukraine could be provoked by Russia’s deteriorating situation in Donbass.
Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Edited by Frances Kerry