Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterates his support for Volodymyr Zelensky
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Friday in Istanbul unequivocal support for his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, which he received for the first time since the start of the war.
The Turkish Head of State estimated, a few days before the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius on July 11 and 12, that Ukraine “deserves” to join the Atlantic Alliance and called on the two countries, Russia and Ukraine, to “return to peace talks”.
For the first time since last summer, Mr. Zelensky, still dressed in his khaki polo shirt, had a long face-to-face meeting with the Turkish president, who maintains close ties with both Kiev and Moscow. The two leaders discussed the future of the Ukrainian grain export deal across the Black Sea despite the war. The agreement, reached in July 2022 with the sponsorship of the United Nations and Turkey, expires on July 17, and Russia has said it sees no reason to extend it.
“We hope that the agreement will be extended”declared Mr. Erdogan, on the contrary, who intends to raise the subject with Vladimir Putin, in August, during a possible visit of the Russian president to Turkey.
For Mr. Zelensky, many people around the world rely on this safe corridor for food “and these lives cannot depend on the mood of the President of the Russian Federation”.
The Kremlin had indicated that it was following ” closely “ the discussions between Messrs. Zelensky and Erdogan, promising to maintain a “constructive partnership with Ankara” and saluting the “mediator role” of the Turkish President.