Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agrees with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi that the country deserves NATO membership.
– There is no doubt about that, Erdogan said at a press conference.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demands that the country gain membership in NATO.
– We need an invitation, but we understand that there may be difficulties in getting unanimous support from all members of the alliance, the president said during a press conference and at the same time emphasized that he wants a clear message from the NATO leaders.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Ukraine “deserves” NATO membership but that Kiev should also start peace talks with Moscow.
Erdogan made the statement after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who visited Istanbul on Friday.
– There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership in NATO, he said at a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president, adding that “both sides should go back to the peace talks.
Putin visits Turkey
At the same time, Erdogan announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey in August. In that case, it would be Russia’s first state visit to Turkey since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February last year.
According to Erdogan, he and the Russian president will, among other things, discuss prisoner exchanges.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression, Turkey has continued to maintain close contact with both Russia and Ukraine, mediating between the countries.