On Thursday, July 16, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha welcomed Minister for Foreign Affairs of Türkiye Hakan Fidan in Kyiv. The two parties held in-depth talks on the bilateral and international agenda, peace efforts, the role of the US and Europe, as well as Ukraine’s tangible peace proposals.
Andrii Sybiha emphasized that Türkiye has played an important role in the peace process over the years and expressed his conviction that its potential can continue to be harnessed. In this regard, the Minister once again confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to hold a meeting in Türkiye between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin to end the war.
“Türkiye is our strategic partner. We are united in our assessment that peace and security in the Black Sea require the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Crimea. Black Sea security is indivisible. And the suffering of our Crimean Tatars resonates in the hearts of the Turkish people”, he noted.
The Foreign Minister also briefed his counterpart on the situation at the front, the successes of the Ukrainian military, and Ukraine’s escalation of far-reaching sanctions against Russia. The Minister specifically highlighted Ukraine’s successful actions against Russian occupiers in Crimea.
“We are united in our view that this war will not yield any results for Moscow. The only right course of action for Putin is to stop the bloodshed right now, accept the proposal for a ceasefire, and turn to diplomacy”, the Minister emphasized.
A separate topic of discussion was the development of defense cooperation between Ukraine and Türkiye.
Andrii Sybiha stressed the importance of resuming the work of the Joint Ukrainian-Turkish Commission on Defense-Industrial Cooperation after a three-year hiatus.
The Foreign Minister also specifically commended Türkiye’s success in hosting the recent NATO summit in Ankara.
“During this summit, our allies officially recognized Ukraine as a contributor to Euro-Atlantic security, and new contributions to the PURL program, thanks to negotiations led by the Head of State, exceeded 1.5 billion euros”, the Foreign Minister noted.
The Minister also highlighted Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation within the Coalition of the Willing and expressed his conviction that Türkiye’s role in ensuring maritime security will be decisive. According to him, this concerns freedom of navigation, the reliability of supply chains, and the strategic security of the entire region.
The parties paid special attention to the new trilateral Ukraine–Türkiye–Syria format. The diplomats discussed the development of cooperation regarding Syria, in particular the establishment of alternative supply chains from the Gulf countries to Europe.
Andrii Sybiha noted that the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Türkiye, ratified by the Ukrainian parliament, will contribute to further growth in trade volume, Ukrainian exports, and a more balanced structure of bilateral trade.
“Last year, our bilateral trade exceeded pre-war levels and reached nearly $8 billion. Türkiye ranked third among Ukraine’s trading partners. Ukrainian exports to Türkiye reached $2.7 billion — the second-highest figure among all our export markets”, the diplomat noted.
The Foreign Minister highlighted Türkiye’s support for the “Food from Ukraine” humanitarian initiative. According to him, more than 335 000 metric tons of Ukrainian food have already been delivered to 20 countries around the world, with a significant portion of this volume going to Syria.
Andrii Sybiha expressed his deep gratitude to Türkiye for its comprehensive support of Ukraine and personally to Minister Hakan Fidan for his unwavering attention to Ukraine.