President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday (August 18) that Turkey stands ‘on the side of Ukraine’. He also warned of the danger of “another Chernobyl” disaster erupting at a nuclear power plant, which is currently held by invading Russian forces.
After talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Erdogan said, “While continuing our efforts to find a solution (to the conflict), we remain on the side of our Ukraine friends.
“We are worried. We don’t want another Chernobyl,” he added.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, praised the first visit to Ukraine since the start of the war by Erdogan, who helped broker a grain deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Zelensky said, “The visit of the President of Turkey to Ukraine is a powerful message of support from such a powerful country.”
Turkey-based Anadolu news agency reported that Ankara and Kyiv signed a deal on Thursday to reconstruct infrastructure damaged in Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This happened as their leaders Erdogan and Zelensky met in Lviv.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also met with Zelenskiy and Erdogan to majorly discuss the grain exports and to raise concerns about the ongoing conflicts over Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The trilateral meeting marks Erdogan’s first in-person discussion with Zelensky since Russia’s invasion on February 24. Meanwhile, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin twice in recent months.
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