Kuleba, Çavuşoğlu discuss preparations for Crimean Platform summit

“Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude to the Turkish side for its firm position of non-recognition of the Russian Federation’s attempts to legitimize the temporary occupation of Crimea, as well as for Turkey’s strong support for the Crimean Platform initiative,” the Ministry’s press service informs.

“Ukraine is grateful to Turkey for its principled stand in the issue of Crimea. Kyiv and Ankara are united by the understanding that Crimea is Ukraine. It has been and will be Ukraine. Attempts to legitimize Russia’s temporary occupation of the peninsula are doomed to failure," Kuleba said.

Çavuşoğlu reaffirmed Turkey’s unconditional support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders and assured of Turkey’s readiness to take part in the Crimean Platform summit on August 23 this year and its further activities.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey stressed that the support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia was not only a long-standing and consistent policy of Ankara but also a matter of principle for Turkey.

The parties discussed the implementation of agreements reached by the heads of state at the 9th meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council of Ukraine and Turkey in Istanbul on April 10.

A separate topic of conversation was the preparations for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and the international Ukraine Reform Conference, which will be held in Vilnius on July 7-8.

The chief diplomats of Ukraine and Turkey paid special attention to the security situation in the Middle East. The Ukrainian minister noted the important contribution of Ankara’s diplomatic efforts to halting the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The diplomats stressed the need for further consolidated efforts by the international community to prevent bloodshed and ensure a lasting settlement of the conflict in the Middle East.

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