Foreign Ministry: the supply of Turkish weapons to Kyiv is not combined with the role of an intermediary

The transfer of weapons and equipment by Turkey to Ukraine contradicts Ankara’s intentions to resume negotiations between Moscow and Kiev and is in no way compatible with the role of a mediator, said Yuri Pilipson, director of the fourth European department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Ankara has repeatedly stated its desire to ensure an early ceasefire in Ukraine and resume the negotiation process through its own mediation. Of course, the supply of weapons and military equipment to the Kyiv regime directly contradicts such intentions and is in no way compatible with the role of an intermediary,” said he is RIA Novosti.

Ukraine uses Turkish Baykar drones in combat operations, which it began to purchase back in 2019. At the end of September 2021, Ukraine and the Bayraktar drone manufacturer signed a memorandum on the construction of a joint center for maintenance and modernization of devices in the Kiev region.

In August 2022, it became known that Baykar Makina bought a land plot in Ukraine for the construction of a plant for the production of Bayraktar UAVs. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov noted that the Bayraktar plant in Ukraine would be subject to demilitarization if it was built. The Kremlin spokesman also stressed that the construction of such a plant would only “prolong the suffering of Ukrainians” and would not hinder the achievement of the goals of the special operation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in May toldthat the United States offered Ankara to send S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, but was refused.