ISTANBUL, Turkey — President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday cut short
his trip to Africa, his office said, as the Turkish leader stepped up diplomacy
over the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
اضافة اعلان
Russian President
Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings and
approved sending troops into eastern Ukraine on Monday to support two rebel
regions' independence claims.
Erdogan, who started a tour of Africa on Sunday, visiting DR
Congo and Senegal, will postpone his journey to Guinea, said the presidency's
office. He is now due back in Turkey late on Tuesday.
The Turkish leader, who has friendly ties to both Moscow and
Kyiv, said Russia's recognition of
Ukraine's breakaway regions was
"unacceptable" and urged compliance with international law, in
comments published Tuesday.
Erdogan has positioned Turkey as a neutral mediator for a
peaceful resolution to the crisis, offering to host the two countries' leaders
or technical level talks in Istanbul or in Ankara.
While in Senegal, Erdogan told Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call that "Putin's recognition of so-called
republics" was unacceptable.
Turkey "is against any kind of decision aimed at
Ukraine's territorial integrity", he said. Diplomatic means should be used
to find a resolution at the international level, he added.
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