Ankara, Kiev seek joint participation in natural gas projects

Turkey and Ukraine decided to cooperate in a number of fields, including politics, economy, education and tourism, during a three-hour Turkey-Ukraine High Level Strategic Council meeting which was chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko at the presidential palace in Ankara. The two countries decided to evaluate joint participation opportunities for projects that envisage natural gas delivery from the Caspian Sea to Europe. The joint declaration signed by Erdoğan and Poroshenko following the meeting placed an emphasis on political and economic cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine.

The two countries also agreed to cooperate in the reform process of the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral international mechanisms, in order to ensure international peace and security. They agreed to cooperate to put an end to Russia's illegitimate occupation of Crimea within the framework of international law. Turkey and Ukraine also decided to increase cooperation to protect the rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian citizens within the framework of the United Nations, the European Council (EC) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

One of the most important items on the bilateral agenda was the fight against terrorism, extremism and separatism. The two countries agreed to develop efficient cooperation between their respective security and intelligence services. Furthermore, they set an objective to complete free trade agreements by the end of this year, and to increase the number of joint tourism projects. Turkey pledged to support Ukrainian travel agencies within the bounds of possibility. with the objective to boost cooperation in tourism.

Turkey and Ukraine will also carry out joint works to use Ukraine's natural gas infrastructure to develop cooperation in natural gas. The two countries will prepare a road map to jointly develop high-tech projects in the aerospace and defense industries and to seek new cooperation opportunities.

Turkey will expand the scope of technical and logistical assistance which it provides to Ukraine to satisfy the needs of Crimean Tatars who had to abandon Crimea, and displaced Ukrainians. The two countries also vowed to mutually increase the number of honorary consulates and to accelerate the process of opening a Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre in Kiev.