Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on Wednesday that Turkey would never approve of “any action that would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Turkish presidency quoted Erdogan Putin as saying that “military conflict will not help anyone” and would continue to explore diplomatic channels on the Ukrainian issue, quoting the French news agency AFP.
“Turkey will not recognize any move that could affect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Erdogan said in a telephone call to Putin, whose term was not specified by the Turkish president.
Turkish President Vladimir Putin said, “We need to find a solution based on that Minsk Agreements”, About the war in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, from 2014 and 2015.
Erdogan reaffirmed his commitment to “continued diplomatic relations and talks” and assured that “Turkey is ready to do its part to reduce tensions.”
Turkish president considers Donetsk and Lukansk’s recognition of independence “unacceptable”
Russia agreed on Monday Independence of Lukansk and Donetsk, A decision seen by the West as a sign of a new invasion of Ukraine. After intelligence, Putin authorized the Russian military to send “peacekeeping forces” to Donetsk and Lukansk, raising fears of a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.
In a first-line response on Tuesday, Erdogan already considered it unacceptable for Moscow to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Lukansk.
However, in the statements made on the flight that took him from Senegal on Tuesday night, he made it clear that he did not want to break with Russia and Ukraine.
“This is not possible. We have political and military ties with Russia. We also have political, military and economic ties with Ukraine,” Erdogan told reporters who accompanied him.
“We want the issue to be resolved without having to choose between the two,” he stressed.
Turkey, Member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)Near Kiev, it sold military drones.
It relies heavily on Moscow for its energy and grain supplies, among other supplies, and receives the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Countries such as Turkey, located on the shores of the Black Sea, offered to mediate Erdogan to avoid a confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.