PodcastTurkey, Ukraine due to sign free trade accord as Erdoğan heads to Kyiv
Turkey and Ukraine will sign a free trade agreement on Feb. 3 when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Kyiv, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said.
Reuters - Duvar English
Turkey and Ukraine will sign a free trade agreement on Feb. 3 when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Kyiv amid tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş told a news conference on Feb. 2.
Turkey is a maritime neighbor of both Ukraine and Russia, in the Black Sea, and has good ties with both. It has called on them to avoid any military conflict and warned Russia that an invasion of Ukraine would be unwise.
Meanwhile, the White House said in a statement that U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Erdoğan's chief adviser İbrahim Kalın spoke on Feb. 1 and discussed their commitment to "deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine."
Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said Kalın told Sullivan that Turkey would provide "all forms of support" to resolving the Ukraine crisis and Erdoğan's visit there on Feb. 3 would "contribute to solving the issue with diplomacy."
Last week, Erdoğan said Russia would be unwise to attack Ukraine and in that case Turkey would do what is necessary as a NATO member.
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