Turkey’s President Erdogan Visits Ukraine For Bilateral, Regional Talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a one-day official visit to Ukraine on Monday.

Erdogan and his Ukrainian counterpart, President Petro Poroshenko, will chair the sixth meeting of the Turkey-Ukraine High Level Strategic Council, the Turkish leader’s press office said last week.

The two leaders will exchange views on bilateral relations and regional issues in the capital, Kiev, where a number of agreements are also expected to be signed.

During his visit, Erdogan is also set to meet Parliament Chairman Andriy Parubiy and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

The Peninsula’s Tartars

During his visit, Erdogan will also receive representatives of Turkic ethnic communities with whom he will discuss the Crimea issue.

Ukraine has been wracked by conflict since March 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea after an independence vote that Kiev and much of the international community, including the UN, considers illegal.

Turkey, the US and EU are among those that do not recognise Crimea as Russian territory.

The peninsula has a Tartar minority which has suffered in the battle for political control.

Separately, fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014, according to the UN.

Serbia visit

Erdogan will proceed from Ukraine to Serbia for an official meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic, at the latter’s invitation, the Turkish president’s press office said on Saturday.

During the visit, Erdogan will also meet with the National Assembly of Serbia.

The two presidents are scheduled to attend a Turkey-Serbia business forum where they will discuss bilateral issues and sign agreements.

“Turkey is hoped that this visit will constitute an important step toward further consolidating the bilateral relationship in a way that will benefit the entire region,” Erdogan’s press office said.