PRESS RELEASE : Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Historical visit of Turkish President demonstrates who is a friend of Ukraine, always willing to help

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 3 February 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy notes that one of the main topics of the meeting with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kyiv was security and peace. The Head of State said this in his statement for the media following the Ukrainian-Turkish talks in Kyiv.

Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his firm and consistent support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and Turkey’s active participation in the Crimea Platform for the liberation of Crimea and the protection of the rights of Crimeans.

“We are talking about the support for the Crimean Tatars, the construction of housing for IDPs from Crimea. There is indeed progress in this matter. We are confident that soon there will be a result, namely the implementation of this important project in Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kyiv,” he said.

Separately, the President of Ukraine noted the initiative of the Turkish leader to become a mediator between Ukraine and Russia on the way to ending the war in Donbas.

“For peace in Ukraine, we are ready to do everything possible on all platforms, in all formats. It doesn’t matter where exactly one can end the war. It is important for everyone to be sincerely ready for this,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine thanked the President of Turkey for the frank conversation and important visit.

“It clearly demonstrates who is a friend of Ukraine, always willing to stand by us and help. Ukraine will always remember this. And it will always be ready to help as well. But I sincerely believe that our friendship will be strengthened not by common threats, but only by common victories,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.

For his part, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that Turkey continues to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea. The leader of the Republic of Turkey commended the position of the President of Ukraine and other Ukrainian officials who offer diplomatic ways to de-escalate the situation around our country.

“During today’s negotiations, I reiterated that we would be pleased to host a summit in Turkey at the level of leaders (of Ukraine and Russia – ed.) or talks at the technical level,” said the President of the Republic of Turkey.

According to him, Turkey also attaches great importance to the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Donbas.