Turkey-Ukraine Defense Cooperation Not Directed Against Third Countries - Erdogan

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2021) Turkish-Ukrainian defense cooperation is not directed against third countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently on a working visit to Istanbul.

"An important element of our cooperation is cooperation in the defense industry. Taking into account the issues of defense and security, we have launched work in the '2+2' format [the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries]. In this way, we will strengthen coordination between our countries. Cooperation between our countries is not an initiative that is aimed at third countries," Erdogan said at a joint presser with Zelenskyy.

The two countries, he went on, reaffirmed commitment to build on their strategic partnership.

The Turkish leader also expressed support for the Ukraine-promoted "Crimean platform."

"Turkey supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Our principled position is non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea. During the [Turkish-Ukrainian] high-level strategic cooperation council, we reaffirmed our support for the Crimean Platform, which is designed to unite the lands of Ukraine.

We wish this platform to become a solution for the Crimean Tatars and Ukraine," Erdogan stated.

"We have projects for the construction of a mosque for our brotherly Crimean Tatars. I hope that in the near future we will take the first step to implement this project," he added.

The two also discussed the current escalation in Ukraine's eastern breakaway region of Donbas. Erdogan expressed the belief that the crisis could be resolved via political means and voiced support for the Minsk accords.

"We want the escalation, tensions to reduce as soon as possible and peace be reestablished again within the framework of the Minsk agreements. We are ready to support this process," Erdogan said.

The Turkish president also touched upon economic cooperation, noting that the two economies "continue to grow despite the pandemic" and "complement each other."

According to Erdogan, Turkey is waiting for Ukrainian tourists and stands ready to "provide them with the highest level of safety amid the pandemic thanks to vaccination and the system of safety certificates in the hotel sector."