AA / Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye is ready to help end the Russia-Ukraine war through diplomacy, and invited the two leaders to meet in Türkiye.
He was speaking to journalists aboard the presidential plane at the end of the day-long working visit to Ukraine on Thursday.
“I said that we will continue to contribute to the solution of the war through diplomacy and negotiations, he said. Just as I told (Russian President) Vladimir Putin during my visit to Sochi , I reminded (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelensky that we might arrange a meeting between them.”
Turkish and Ukrainian Presidents and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres met in the Ukrainian city of Lviv to discuss steps to end the war between Ukraine and Russia through diplomatic and maintain a recently established mechanism for the evacuation of Ukrainian grain to world markets.
Erdogan, on the sidelines of the meeting, invited the international community to get more involved in relaunching the diplomatic process.
The Turkish president recalled having met separately with Zelensky and Putin since the start of the war, adding that his country will raise the issue of the war in Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly scheduled for September.
“The messages that will be delivered there are very, very significant. The messages that we and other countries will deliver there will be very important,” he noted.
– Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
At the trilateral meeting in Lviv, Erdogan expressed his concern over the ongoing conflict over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, saying: “We don’t want to experience another Chernobyl”
He also said that Zelensky had demanded the removal of Russian mines from the area.
“President Zelensky specifically asked us to ensure that Russia dismantles all mines and similar facilities there,” he said. We will discuss this issue with Putin and ask Russia to play its part in this, an important step for world peace.”
– Türkiye has no eyes on the territory of Syria”.
Ankara’s main concern in Syria, Erdogan recalled, is the fight once morest terrorism in the north of the country. He added that Türkiye is ready to carry out more operations once morest terrorist groups.
“Türkiye has no eyes on Syrian territory. The Syrian people are a brotherly people. Their territorial integrity is important to us. The regime must be aware of this,” he noted.
He reaffirmed that the United States continues to support terrorism in Syria.
“It is the United States and the coalition forces that primarily fuel terrorism in Syria. They have done so relentlessly and continue to do so. in Iraq. For whose benefit? Again, terrorist organizations. If there is unrest in Iraq today, unfortunately, it is America that is behind it, he stressed.
The head of the Turkish state indicated that Ankara assumes the responsibility of solving the Syrian problem for regional peace and the protection of Türkiye once morest the serious threats of the crisis.
He assured that Türkiye is in contact with Russia for every step it takes in Syria.
Regarding relations with Egypt, Erdogan said that Türkiye continues its contacts with Cairo at the level of ministers.
“We hope that we can take a step to the highest level in the best possible way, because the Egyptian people are a brotherly people. It is not possible for us to be offended by the Egyptian people,” he said. He underlines.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt have been maintained at the charge d’affaires level in both sides since the 2013 military coup in Egypt that overthrew elected President Mohammed Morsi.
* Translated from English by Alex Sinhan Bogmis
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