Erdoğan and Zelenskyy talk about grain corridor, war and war prisoners

European Pravda, Ukrainska Pravda — Friday, 5 January 2024, 20:34

Erdoğan and Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in summer 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a telephone conversation with the head of Ukraine's government, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Source: European Pravda, citing the press service of the Turkish president; the Office of the Ukrainian President

During the conversation, Erdoğan stressed the importance of reopening the grain corridor.

The Turkish president said he was continuing diplomatic contacts relating to this issue.

Erdoğan also said that Türkiye is "making great efforts to stop the bloodshed both in Ukraine and in the Palestinian territories".

The Office of the President of Ukraine reports that Zelenskyy raised the issue of bringing back Ukrainian prisoners and deportees from Russia, including Crimean Tatars.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Special attention is paid to the point of the Peace Formula on the liberation of all [Ukrainian] prisoners and deportees. Today I discussed this with the president of Türkiye. The release of Ukrainian children who were abducted by Russians. The release of prisoners and all those who are subject to repression in the occupied territory, particularly in Crimea. Türkiye's mediation is very important so that the Crimean Tatars and all others – adults and children, soldiers and civilians – who are held in Russian captivity can be released."

Background:

In December 2023, the Turkish president said that the European Union would slow down the accession of Ukraine and Moldova, adding that Ankara had long earned the right to join the EU.
In response, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova believes that the negative predictions of some leaders regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU are of a domestic political nature.

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