ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul on Saturday (Apr 4) for talks on energy and navigation security and efforts to end the war with Russia, the Turkish presidency said.
The visit came a day after Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused Kyiv of attempting to target the gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey supplying several European countries.
Erdogan “stressed the importance that Turkey attaches to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and the crucial nature of the security of energy supply,” his office said. The two leaders also discussed relations between the countries, “peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and regional and international developments,” it added.
ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ON AGENDA
Zelenskyy said they had discussed “steps to implement joint projects in developing gas infrastructure, as well as opportunities for joint development of gas fields.”
The meeting was held at the Dolmabahce Palace on the shores of the Bosphorus, which also hosted several rounds of talks between Moscow and Kyiv in the past, with a heavy police presence around the venue.
Zelenskyy was also due to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of most Christian Orthodox churches, a week before the Orthodox Easter, celebrated in Ukraine and Russia on Apr 12.