Turkish foreign minister visits Kyiv to discuss his talks with Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kyiv on 30 May after the minister's visit to Moscow this week. In Kyiv, the Turkish diplomat shared the results of negotiations in Russia.
Source: European Pravda, citing the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Details: The ministers discussed in detail the bilateral and international agenda, the peace process, and the need for a complete ceasefire.
"Minister Fidan has just returned from Moscow and informed me in detail about what he heard and saw there. We discussed steps that will bring peace to Ukraine," Sybiha said.
Details: The ministers paid special attention to the issue of security in the Black Sea region, the Foreign Ministry noted. "Ukraine and Türkiye have a common goal: the Black Sea should be a space of peace, free trade and freedom of navigation," he added.
The diplomats also discussed joint work on the implementation of the agreements following the results of the first meeting of the Ukrainian-Turkish working group on reconstruction. In addition, Sybiha expressed special gratitude to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his role in peace efforts.
"We appreciate that Türkiye unconditionally supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, in particular the return of Crimea, and also defends the rights of the Crimean Tatar people," the minister said.
Background:
On 26-27 May, Türkiye's foreign minister was in Moscow, where he met Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Russia's chief negotiator for the Istanbul talks, Vladimir Medinsky. Fidan also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia proposed that the second round of negotiations with Ukraine be held in Istanbul on 2 June, said Lavrov.
At the same time, Kyiv noted that, to achieve results at the meeting, it needs to review Russia's "peace memorandum" in advance.
On Thursday 29 May, Erdoğan urged Russia and Ukraine not to close the door on dialogue ahead of a likely meeting between representatives of both countries on Monday in Istanbul.
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