Ukraine considers Trkiye as a partner in security guarantees: Zelenskyy

Ukraine considers Trkiye as a partner in security guarantees and is ready to ratify a free trade agreement between states, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.

Zelenskyy's statements occurred following a meeting with a Turkish delegation led by the Minister of the Trade Mer Bolat and the Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim Yumakl in kyiv. Translections focused on bilateral links, cooperation in drone production and the involvement of Turkish companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The member of NATO, Trkiye, has balanced links with kyiv and Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. He maintained good links with the two, supporting Ukraine militarily and supporting his territorial integrity, while refusing to join sanctions against Russia.

While Europe rushes to strengthen its defense and safety, while looking for guarantees for kyiv as part of any possible ceasefire agreement with Moscow urged by Washington, Trkiye has become a key potential security partner.

“It is important that Turkish companies are already present in Ukraine. Our country appreciates it, as well as the support and assistance of Trkiye, in particular the offer of drones Bayraktar,” said Zelenskyy on the social media platform X.

He referred to the air -free Bayraktar TB2 -free combat vehicles developed by the power of the Turkish drone Baykar which helped the military forces of Ukraine at the start of the invasion.

“Ukraine considers Trkiye one of its strategic partners, as well as a partner in terms of security guarantees, and is ready to ratify the free trade agreement with Trkiye during the president (Recep Tayyip) to come from the next visit,” added Zelenskyy, without specifying during his visit.

Zelenskyy was in Trkiye almost a month ago for interviews with Erdoan in the midst of efforts to find a lasting settlement in Ukraine. This marked his third visit to Trkiye since Russia sent troops to Ukraine three years ago.

During Thursday's meeting, “we discussed efforts to bring just and sustainable peace closer, the development of bilateral relations, the possibilities of cooperation in the production of various types of drones and the participation of Turkish companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy.

Bolat and Yumakl also attended the first meeting of a working group between Trkiye and Ukraine for the reconstruction of the country after the war.

The group, set up within the framework of an agreement signed in August 2022, will be responsible for coordinating work to rebuild installations of social and economic importance, including roads, bridges, water and electricity infrastructure, hospitals and schools.

Bola reaffirmed Trkiye's desire to help Ukraine in reconstruction and to extend economic and commercial cooperation.

The meeting attended more than 20 companies in the Trkiyes Contracting and Technical Consultancy sectors as well as Ukrainian representatives of the State and the private sector involved in the reconstruction of the countries, he wrote on X.

He said Turkish entrepreneurs were ready to share their experience and knowledge for future projects.

Turkish manufacturers have already undertaken urgent projects during the war, including roads, bridges, energy infrastructure and housing construction, for an amount of $ 1.2 billion in 100 projects, according to the Trade ministry.

To date, companies have carried out some 350 projects in Ukraine worth $ 10 billion.

The meeting with Zelenskyy was also focused on the course of economic and commercial relations as well as a roadmap for the future, said Bola.

“We have reiterated our determination to achieve the purpose of commercial volume of $ 10 billion set by Mr. Zelenskyy with our president, our desire to put into force our free trade agreement, and our desire to transfer the experience and know-how of Turkish entrepreneurs to Ukraine in the reconstruction of Ukraine and manage to take away,” he noted.

Yumakl also reiterated the determination to reach the targeted commercial volume according to the principle of mutual “win-win”.

Bolat and Yumakl then met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to discuss measures to further advance trade and economic cooperation between states.

“We have once again highlighted our solid support as Trkiye for territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, and we have drawn attention to the importance of dialogue for the establishment of peace and tranquility in our region,” said Bolat.

In a later video declaration, Zelenskyy said called Trkiye “our friends, our important partners”.

“Many things have really united our nations, and we are grateful to Trkiye to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as to support our efforts for peace,” he said.

“Today, we have discussed additional cooperation, including mutual investments, the commitment of Turkish companies in Ukraine and how our entrepreneurs can extend their operations to Trkiye.”

Food security, agricultural exports

Translections have also focused on the measures to be taken with regard to food security, according to Yumakl, which said they had presented a roadmap for agricultural exports to third countries with Ukraine.

Trkiye had negotiated an agreement of black sea grains which had allowed Ukraine to export cereals in complete safety of its Black Sea ports. The agreement remained in force for a year before Russia left the initiative in mid-2013.

We highlighted the importance of food security for the whole world, as we see in the cereal corridor, “wrote Yumakl on X.

“We have evaluated the possibilities of cooperation in the field of agriculture, in particular in the renovation of agricultural irrigation infrastructure in areas damaged by the war.”

Yumakl said he also had a concrete meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vitaly Koval to take more tangible measures.

“We have trained committees to reopen exports of Trkiyes dairy products. I am convinced that we will soon have good news for our sector.”

Yumakl said they had also taken initiatives for the export of agricultural equipment to Ukraine.

He transmitted the message that the ministry and the private sector are ready for the reconstruction of water and irrigation infrastructure damaged by the war.

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