Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - Feb. 22, 2022

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkiye and around the world.

-Turkiye ‘rejects’ Russia's decision to recognize Ukraine's breakaway regions

Turkiye on Tuesday rejected Russia's decision to recognize Ukraine's breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, calling it “unacceptable.”

"The decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Republics, in addition to contradicting the Minsk Agreements, constitutes a clear violation of Ukraine's political unity and territorial integrity," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian Federation’s decision is unacceptable and we reject it," it added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will speak with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan following Russia’s recognition of Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states.

Zelensky said on Twitter that he spoke with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

“Now we are urgently preparing an address, and after that, talks with European Council President Charles Michel and Erdogan,” he added.

Turkiye’s president, who is in the Senegalese capital Dakar as part of a four-day mini-tour of Central and West Africa, vowed to boost relations with African countries.

“We will continue to enhance our relations with African countries on the basis of sincerity and solidarity,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press conference with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall.

Meanwhile, Turkiye reported 85,026 new coronavirus cases Monday.

According to a chart shared by the Health Ministry, 268 people lost their lives and 94,402 others recovered from the disease over the past day.

- Other developments worldwide

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his country’s armed forces late Monday to carry out “peacekeeping operations” in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

The two separate presidential decrees also ordered Russia's Foreign Ministry to conduct negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations with the “people's republics” and to formalize the agreements with the relevant documents.

Russia’s decision to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states is a "violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Tuesday in an address.

All responsibility for the consequences of Moscow's decision lies with Russia, said Zelensky.

"The truth is with us," he stressed, adding they "are not afraid" amid Russia's recognition of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has requested an "urgent meeting" of the UN Security Council due to Russia’s "illegal actions" in eastern Ukraine, the nation's top diplomat said early Tuesday.

"We have already sent the request to the Council," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.