Ukraine deserves to have NATO membership, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press conference in Istanbul alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the press conference Erdogan also said he hoped the Black Sea grain deal, which Turkey helped broker with Russia, will be extended. The deal, seen as vital for world food security, is expiring in just ten days.
The Turkish president went on to say he will support the rebuilding of Ukraine and that Turkey will continue efforts to engage in negotiations to end the war.
Speaking alongside Erdogan, Zelensky said they discussed the grain deal and that the Black Sea should be an area of safety not of "so-called frozen conflicts."
"Today we focused our conversation on how your [Turkish] leadership can renew peace and normal world order when the interests of all nations are balanced," Zelensky said. "(The) Black Sea should be an area of safety, cooperation and not an area of war or any crises or so-called frozen conflicts that can ignite at any minute and strike and effect people's lives," he said.
Zelensky also said Ukraine would regain control over Crimea and thanked Turkey for supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"I'm grateful to Turkey for supporting our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Zelensky said. "We talked about the situation in Crimea that Russia still unlawfully controls and uses as a bridgehead of threats and danger. In any case we will renew our control over Crimea."
After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded vital grain exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain were not being exported to the many countries that rely on it.
The deal, reached in July 2022 and has since been extended, created procedures to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports and allowed exports to resume.
