Senior Turkish, Ukrainian officials discuss course of Russia-Ukraine war, recent developments

By Elif Kucuk

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on Sunday met with Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, to discuss the course of the country's war with Russia and Moscow's annexation of four breakaway Ukrainian regions.

During their talk in Istanbul, Kalin and Yermak pointed out that the ground for dialogue should be re-established to end the war within the framework of international law on the basis of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They also noted that Türkiye rejected Russia's decision to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine, and that despite the difficult conditions, Türkiye would continued its efforts to bring the parties together for talks.

The two officials also touched on the importance of the international community's support to Türkiye's sincere efforts and its multilateral initiatives to put an end to the war and establish peace.

They also drew attention to Türkiye's key role in the realization of the July deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain to the rest of the world, as well as a recent prisoner swap with Russia.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.