Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey has taken a “fair and balanced stance” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and strengthened ties with the two countries.
“Strengthening our ties with Ukraine, we have established cooperation with the Russian Federation,” Erdogan told a rally in the eastern province of Bayburt on Saturday after he met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. Don’t let your relationship get ruined.” The agency told.
“Hopefully we will also meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in August,” he added.
Speaking about the negative effects of the conflict on Turkey’s economy, the Turkish leader said, “Every event that happens around us has an impact on the economy,” adding that energy and food prices around the world have reached record levels.
It was Zelensky’s first trip to Turkey since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, but the Ukrainian president has often spoken by phone with Erdogan as Ankara pushes for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
In July 2022, the United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine to provide a humanitarian sea corridor for ships exporting food and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
