President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkey Hulusi Akar, who was on a working visit to Ukraine.
The President expressed gratitude for Turkey's continued support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for the attention the Turkish party pays to protecting the rights and interests of Crimean Tatars. The representative of the Turkish government confirmed the country's willingness to implement agreements on the construction of 500 apartments for Crimean Tatars, who were forced to leave the occupied Crimea.
The President of Ukraine praised Turkey's humanitarian aid.
"We are grateful to Turkey and personally to President Erdoğan, who always supports Ukraine, our independence and sovereignty. I would like to thank for helping Ukraine during the pandemic and for Turkey's decision to provide assistance in overcoming the consequences of floods," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Having noted the strengthening of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Turkey, the interlocutors discussed the implementation of the Roadmap for Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation for 2020 signed on June 22 this year during a visit of a Turkish delegation led by Special Adviser and Spokesperson of Turkish President İbrahim Kalın to Ukraine. Among other things, the need to hold a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Turkish Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, as well as consultations on concluding a Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Turkey was pointed out.
The Turkish high-ranking official praised the dynamics of the development of Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in the military sphere. The readiness of the parties to work closely together in the context of Ukraine's involvement in the NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partnership in June 2020 was noted. The parties agreed to consider the possibility of launching a bilateral security consultation mechanism in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The President thanked the Turkish party for the financial assistance in purchasing goods for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as for the assistance in the rehabilitation in Turkey of children and family members of Ukrainian servicemen who died defending the Homeland. The parties agreed to study the possibility of concluding an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of defense. A number of practical issues of cooperation in the defense industry were also discussed during the conversation.
The interlocutors expressed content with the resumption of high dynamics of political contacts between the two countries after the mitigation of quarantine measures.