Ukraine expects solidarity from Turkey - envoy
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[February 24, 2022]
By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA (Reuters) - Ukraine's ambassador to
Ankara said on Thursday that his country expected solidarity from NATO
member Turkey and that the latter should not remain impartial after
Russia launched air and ground assaults on its neighbour.
Speaking to reporters after holding talks at the Turkish Foreign
Ministry, Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said Turkey would evaluate a Ukrainian
request to provide aid and to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles
straits to Russian ships.
"Turkey will evaluate the requests and respond as soon as possible,"
Bodnar said after his talks with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat
Onal. "We expect solidarity to be shown."
Ukraine's request that Turkey shut off access to the Black Sea puts
Turkey in a difficult position as it shares a maritime border with
Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good relations with both
countries.
Under a 1936 pact, Ankara has control over the straits and can limit the
passage of warships during wartime or if threatened.
Bodnar said it was important for Ukraine that Turkish messages of
support are expressed openly to the public and that they are heard by
the international community.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/24/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
"Turkey should not remain impartial," he said. "We are calling on Turkey
to be active and proactive and to help Ukraine."
In a news conference in Ankara earlier, Bodnar had said Ukraine wanted
sanctions imposed on the Russian side as well as calling for the straits
and air space to be closed.
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![](../images/022422PIX/news_s35.jpg)
Turkish and Ukrainian flags fly during a welcoming ceremony of
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan before his meeting with Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Ukraine February 3, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/24/images/ads/current/graue_21CAMARO_100421.png) BALANCING ACT
Turkey has opposed sanctions on Russia. President Tayyip Erdogan has
said Ankara would try to manage the crisis without abandoning ties
with either Moscow or Kyiv, but also said Russian steps against
Ukraine were unacceptable.
While building close cooperation with Russia on defence and energy,
Ankara has also sold sophisticated drones to Ukraine and signed a
deal to co-produce more, angering Moscow.
Turkey opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, its annexation
of Crimea in 2014 and its 2008 recognition of two Georgian regions.
Earlier this month, six Russian warships and a submarine transited
the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits to the Black Sea for what
Moscow called naval drills near Ukraine waters.
On Thursday, Turkey advised its citizens in Ukraine to stay at home
or in a safe place and avoid traveling, after airlines cancelled
flights due to the closure of Ukraine's air space.
Erdogan convened a summit of top security officials on Thursday to
discuss the Russian offensive, his office said.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay and Ali Kucukgocmen;
Editing by Dominic Evans, Daren Butler and Bernadette Baum)
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