Zelenskiy pledges increased security cooperation with Turkey in Istanbul
After meeting with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday in Istanbul, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for a?greater co-operation between the two countries. Kyiv is seeking to capitalize its wartime experience?on an international stage.
Zelenskiy stated that he and the Turkish President had agreed on "new steps" to be taken in the security cooperation, and that the teams would finalise details soon.
"This is especially true in the areas where we can help Turkey: expertise and technology," he wrote via Telegram.
Erdogan told Zelenskiy that Turkey would support the negotiations between Ukraine Russia to end war.
Zelenskiy stated that the two leaders discussed opportunities for co-operation in joint gas projects and joint field development.
TURKEY WANT MARITIME SAFETY ON BLACK SEA
The first peace talks were held in 2022 by Turkey, a NATO country that had maintained close ties with both sides. This was the only such meeting until Donald Trump, U.S. president, launched a renewed effort to stop the fighting last year.
The presidency stated that at the Saturday meeting in Istanbul Erdogan informed Zelenskiy of the importance Turkey attaches to the maritime safety of the Black Sea, and the security energy supplies.
A marine drone caused an explosion near Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait in the Black Sea last week after it struck a crude oil tanker which had left Russia. Turkey condemned this incident. This was one of several incidents that occurred in the past few months, involving vessels sanctioned by the West and heading towards or from Russian ports in Black Sea.
Ukraine recently signed agreements on security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, and it says that it is currently in discussions with other Middle Eastern countries about similar arrangements.
Ukraine is leveraging its experience in countering drones acquired during its four-year war with Russia.
Since the February 2022 invasion, Moscow has been using drones of Iranian design to strike Ukraine.
Zelenskiy’s spokesperson told reporters Zelenskiy was going to meet Patriarch Bartholomew - the highest ranking cleric of the Orthodox Church. (Reporting and editing by Daren Butler, Max Hunder and Toby Chopra).
(source: Reuters)
