Turkey calls for diplomatic solution to Black Sea tension

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to an ongoing escalation between Ukraine and Russia with a strong emphasis on the need to turn the Black Sea region into a basin of peace and cooperation as he hosted Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky in Istanbul over the weekend.

"We believe that the current crisis should be resolved in a peaceful and diplomatic way and on the basis of Ukraine's territorial integrity and international law," Erdoğan told a press conference with Zelensky after the meetings late April 10.

Zelensky's visit to Istanbul came as the tension between Ukraine and Russia escalated over the incidents in the former's Donbass region where pro-Russian separatist groups clashed with the Ukrainian troops. Russia has intensified its military presence along the border with Ukraine as Moscow blames Kiev for provocations. This recent escalation is triggering new alarm bells in the region after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

"Our primary goal is that the Black Sea continues to be a sea of peace, serenity and cooperation. We do not want tension to rise under any circumstances in our shared geography. In this sense, I, together with my treasured friend, have exchanged each other's views on the current situation in the east of Ukraine," Erdoğan said. The Turkish president also expressed Turkey's readiness to provide any support necessary to this end.

"We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the ceasefire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements," he added. Turkey strongly defended Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," he said, stressing, "We reaffirmed our...