Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey is ready to host a peace summit with the participation of Russia.
“From the very beginning, we have contributed to a negotiated end to the war. We are ready to host a peace summit, in which Russia will also be involved,” he said on Friday in Istanbul after negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Erdogan said “we support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of our strategic partner – Ukraine.”
“Unfortunately, the war is having a growing negative impact regionally and globally and, above all, on Ukraine. No diplomatic steps have been taken to use the sentencing table that we built in Istanbul in March 2022 to establish peace,” he said.
The Turkish President also expressed his readiness to provide support for new agreements on grain exports.
According to him, “the entry into force of the free trade agreement as soon as possible will, without a doubt, give impetus to the development of our relations.”
Erdogan said “the existence of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine is one of the most important factors in strengthening friendship between the two countries. The Crimean Tatars, who are an integral part of Ukraine, are selflessly fighting to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
“In the future, on the one hand, we will be in solidarity with Ukraine, and on the other, we will continue our work to end the war with a just, negotiated peace,” he said.