Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement on four of the six chapters currently under negotiation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on his return from Brussels, where he is attending an emergency NATO meeting, TRT Haber reports.
According to Erdogan, one of these chapters deals, in particular, with Ukraine’s membership in NATO. The other concerns the recognition of the Russian language as an official language in Ukraine, he said.
“Another topic is the issue of disarmament. Naturally, Ukraine is a state, that is, we are not talking about accepting disarmament from A to Z. But this issue is not insoluble either. The Ukrainian side stated that certain concessions can be made here well “, said the President of Turkey.
The fourth issue on which Erdogan agrees with Kiev is the issue of collective defense.
“But, of course, Ukraine is not so calm about Crimea and Donbass,” he added.
According to Erdogan, the statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the need for a referendum on the compromises that Ukraine can reach with Russia to end the war shows “smart leadership.”
Erdogan also said he would hold separate talks with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts in the coming days to discuss the outcome of the NATO summit.
Turkey, a member of NATO, opposes sanctions against Moscow, although it supports Ukraine and criticizes Russia.
“Almost half of the natural gas we consume comes from Russia. We are building Akkuyu NPP separately with Russia. We cannot put these things aside,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“Therefore, we cannot do anything here. We must maintain our sensitivity in this matter. Firstly, I cannot leave my people to freeze in winter. Secondly, I cannot stop our industry. We must protect these interests,” he said.
Erdogan also said that the purchase of Russian air defense systems has been completed and Turkey’s position remains unchanged. At the same time, he assessed that negotiations with Washington on the purchase of new F-16 aircraft and the modernization of Turkey’s existing aircraft are going well, and he hopes to bring results soon, Turkish television Haberturk reported.