Ankara hastened to refute Volodymyr Zelensky, who tweeted that Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to close the Straits to Russian warships.
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan did not tell the Ukrainian president by telephone that Turkey would close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to Russian warships,” a senior Turkish official told the Middle East Eye on Saturday.
“President Erdogan did not promise to close the straits,” said the Turkish official, whose name was not released, but according to the site he has direct knowledge of what was said between the two leaders in
communication they had.
“Turkey has not yet decided to close the straits for Russian ships,” he said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a telephone conversation that Ankara was working for an immediate ceasefire.
In a statement, the Turkish presidency said Erdogan also expressed his condolences for the Ukrainians killed in the Russian attack.
For its part, Russia says, according to Interfax, that it has no official notice that the Straits are closed.
“I thank my friend Mr. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the people of Turkey for their strong support. The ban on the passage of Russian warships in the Black Sea and the significant military and humanitarian support for Ukraine are extremely important today. “The people of Ukraine will never forget that!” Zelensky characteristically mentions in his message.
It is recalled that Ankara has avoided taking a clear position on the issue, arguing that even if it imposes a ban, it can not stop the passage of ships returning to their bases.
I thank my friend Mr. President of ???????? @RTErdogan and the people of ???????? for their strong support. The ban on the passage of ???????? warships to the Black Sea and significant military and humanitarian support for ???????? are extremely important today. The people of ???????? will never forget that!
– Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 26, 2022
A new video in which he states that Kiev and the key cities of Ukraine are under the control of the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian president posted on Facebook earlier.
Earlier and after a conversation with him French President Emanuel MacronZelensky wrote on Twitter that his Western partners will deliver new weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
