Turkey urges Russian-Ukrainian conflict to be settled via talks

Duvar English - Anadolu Agency 

Turkey calls for a de-escalation of tension between Russia and Ukraine and urges the settlement of problems through negotiations, Turkish presidential spokesman said on April 11.

“Turkey defends Ukraine's territorial integrity and the rights of Crimean Tatars and supports the settlement of the problems between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations,” İbrahim Kalın said on Twitter.

“All kinds of tensions and conflicts in the Black Sea and the region are to the detriment of everyone,” he added.

Kalın's remarks came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky in Istanbul.

Erdoğan called for the "worrying" developments in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region to come to an end and said Turkey desires a “peaceful” Black Sea.

"We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the ceasefire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements," Erdoğan said on April 10. "We are ready to provide any support necessary for this."

The two countries vowed to strengthen their strategic partnership, according to a 20-item joint declaration released after the 9th meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council.

Tension is high in the region as the United States said Russia is amassing its forces on Ukraine's eastern border at a level unseen since 2014 when it seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and annexed it in violation of international law.