Cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine is vital for security in both Europe and the Middle East, said Ukraine's foreign minister on Friday.
"Without cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine, security in Europe and the Middle East cannot be ensured," said Pavlo Klimkin at a meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman.
Klimkin said Turkey and Ukraine have always thought of each other's security, and thanked Ankara for its stance against Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.
The Ukrainian foreign minister praised Turkey's support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and stressed that the reason for the increasing cooperation between the countries is the friendly ties.
"We welcome Turkey's support for Ukraine's territorial integrity. The support given by Turkey is based on the friendship between the countries beyond the partnership ties," Klimkin said in a joint press conference in Ankara with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. He underlined that Turkey's stance regarding the annexation of Crimea is also welcome.
In relation to the issue, Çavuşoğlu said: "We strongly support the territorial integrity of Crimea. We never recognized the annexation of Crimea and we have been repeatedly stressing that we will never recognize it." Ukraine has been wracked by conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea after an illegal independence vote. Since then, the region's Tatar minority has complained of repression, including arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Warring parties signed a cease-fire in February 2015, but the fighting continued, claiming more than 10,000 lives, according to the U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly voted to proclaim the Russian annexation illegal. Along with many U.N. countries, the U.S., the EU and Turkey also do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
Çavuşoğlu stated that Turkey has been cooperating with the Ukrainian government in the issue of protecting the rights of Crimean Tatars and underlined that Turkey will continue to take steps in line with that.
Touching on the bilateral ties between Turkey and Ukraine, Çavuşoğlu said, "Relations are on an excellent level," stressing that the aim is to further develop ties. Klimkin also stressed: "we have a common history and have been facing difficulties together. I am sure that our future will be together as well."
Çavuşoğlu stated that the meeting with his Ukranian counterpart is part of the preparations for the summit of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) which will be held in upcoming months.