Erdogan urged to give Moscow and Kyiv the opportunity to “decently get out of the crisis”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his speech at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, called on states and international organizations to support the actions of Ankara, which seeks to establish peace in Ukraine. The video of the speech is posted on the page of the President of Turkey in the social network.

Erdogan promised that Turkey would step up efforts to end hostilities in Ukraine, which have “flared up with renewed vigor” in recent days.

He said that Ankara stands for “settlement of the problem on the basis of territorial integrity and taking into account the independence of Ukraine.”

Erdogan also stressed that “it is important to work together to find a reasonable, fair and viable diplomatic solution that will allow Russia and Ukraine to adequately overcome the crisis.” This quote was given by the Anadolu agency.

The Turkish leader also recalled that his country organized talks between the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation and Ukraine in Antalya in early March, as well as the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul at the end of March (at the last face-to-face talks between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv). Erdogan also recalled the role of Ankara in concluding a food deal, which allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, which was blocked with the start of the Russian military operation.

Earlier Tuesday, Erdogan spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This conversation took place against the backdrop of the announcement by the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as representatives of the pro-Russian military-civilian administrations (MAC) of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, of decisions about their intention to hold a referendum on joining Russia this week.

The State Duma of Russia expressed its support to the leadership of these regions.

The authorities of Germany, the USA and Poland have already declared that they do not recognize the results of the referendums.

Kyiv emphasized that if they were held, there would be no opportunity for dialogue with Moscow.

On September 16, Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand, at the SCO summit. After this meeting, the Turkish leader said that his Russian counterpart wants to quickly end the armed conflict, and Turkey in this situation seeks to “end this battle in peace.”