Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed bilateral ties, regional issues and other developments with Russian envoy Aleksei Erkhov, as stated on his Twitter account Monday.
#Rusya Büyükelçisi Aleksei Yerhov'la görüştük. İkili ilişkilerimizi, bölgesel konuları ve turizm alanındaki işbirliğimizi ele aldık.
Met w/Alexei Yerhov, Ambassador of #Russia. Discussed bilateral relations, regional issues and cooperation in the field of tourism. pic.twitter.com/dFcFa5G9m2
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) April 19, 2021
Turkey recently called for a de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged a de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine and said Turkey desires a "peaceful" Black Sea.
“Our main goal is that the Black Sea continues to be a sea of peace, tranquility and cooperation,” he added.
Tension in the region is high and the United States has said that Russia is amassing its forces on Ukraine’s eastern border at a level unseen since 2014 when it seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in violation of international law.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said Turkey and other “responsible” nations should not feed what he described as “belligerent sentiment” in Ukraine.
The warning came against a background of Turkey delivering combat drones to Ukraine, for which it had signed a contract for in 2019. Half a dozen have already been delivered.
On April 13, Moscow said it was suspending most air travel with Turkey, a popular destination for millions of Russian tourists, citing rising COVID-19 infections.
