Turkey needs ties with both Russia and Ukraine: Erdogan

The Turkish President Erdogan said Ankara cannot abandon its ties with Russia or Ukraine by criticising the West with Moscow as achieving little, MEMO has learned. 

President Erdogan repeated that Turkey is ready to become a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Being the NATO member nation, Turkey has good ties with both countries, moreover, Ankara would take steps that do not harm its bilateral ties.

“It is not possible for us to abandon either [country],” Erdogan said. “Our aim is that we take such a step that, God willing, we sort this out without abandoning either one.”

His French counterpart Emmanuel Macron also urged for a diplomatic solution in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis. He invited Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to attend a summit aimed at de-escalating the NATO-Russia crisis and this mediating initiative achieved no success.

Over the decades, Russia and Turkey have had deep military ties, with Ankara buying Russian S-400 defence missile systems, despite threats of Washington sanctions.

Last February, Turkey and Russia opened a joint military facility in Azerbaijan to help monitor the ceasefire with Armenia, a stark indicator of the shifting geopolitics in the region.