Ukraine always feels and appreciates the continued support from Türkiye for its territorial integrity in the ongoing war with Russia, the country’s ambassador to Ankara said on Wednesday as he spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) for the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

"I would like to thank President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish people and the state for reiterating Ukraine’s independence, its right to exist and expressing that Crimea and other occupied regions belong to Ukraine," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said.

Hailing increasingly stronger ties between Kyiv and Ankara since 1991 when Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union, Bodnar pointed out that the pair has developed "close cooperation on an expansive scope that only strengthens day by day because it’s based on shared history and mutual benefit."

Initiatives in many fields like defense, the free trade deal and visa-free travel have brought Türkiye and Ukraine closer, he added.

Bodnar also emphasized the importance of Türkiye and Ukraine in ensuring global food security, especially via the Black Sea grain corridor.

Last month, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, which it signed last summer along with Türkiye, the U.N. and Ukraine for grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Exports were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The Kremlin cited the lack of implementation of their demands in the deal as grounds for the suspension. While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow cited restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance as a barrier to shipments.

Since then, Türkiye has engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to resume the deal while Ukraine established a new "humanitarian corridor" with the first ship leaving through it last week.

Reiterating that Ukraine is ready to extend the initiative, Bodnar said if, however, some of Russia’s proposed terms are included in the deal, Kyiv’s demands to include other Ukrainian ports in the corridor and enable the export of other goods such as metals should be added, as well.

Ukraine will not unilaterally back down for the initiative to continue under new conditions, Bodnar stressed. "We reject Russia’s terms. These are all in the past. These are not steps to be taken one-sidedly. There must be an argument and mutual steps must be taken for an agreement."

Bodnar also argued what Ukraine calls the "humanitarian corridor" was not the opposite of the grain initiative but "an alternative implementation of it" since the purpose of the deal was the shipment of Ukrainian grain.

Tensions in the Black Sea have been soaring since 2014 and the world has turned a blind eye to it, he went on to say. "Everyone was silent on the occupation of Crimea, except for Türkiye."

As for whether the humanitarian corridor Ukraine launched with Türkiye would further stoke tensions in the Black Sea region, Bodnar claimed if other countries join the initiative and have their ships halted or seized, their following moves are up to them.

"We’re not calling on anyone to clash with Russia. We only ask them to support our peaceful humanitarian initiative, which has nothing to do with the war," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-step Peace Formula addresses global food security; and Kyiv has recommended Türkiye, which makes a great contribution to food security besides being a pioneer in this field, to manage the process of revitalizing the grain corridor, according to Bodnar.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently revealed his country was coordinating efforts with Erdoğan to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the Black Sea grain deal and that Erdoğan was coordinating with Zelenskyy.

Putin is scheduled for a visit to Türkiye before the month ends wherein Erdoğan assured he would try to convince the Russian leader to "adopt a positive stance" on the issue.

Erdoğan also strives to accomplish brokering a permanent truce between the two countries. He voiced hope for results as a result of his efforts "if Putin and Zelenskyy agree on our mediation."

Erdoğan’s chief advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç was in Ukraine for talks earlier this week where presidential sources were quoted as saying, "Progress has been made for the grain corridor, the route without Russia is not healthy."

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will be flying to Ukraine this Friday and Russia later on.