Turkey supports the Ukrainian leadership’s determination for reform, Turkish EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator informed the Ukrainian President Petro Proshenko on Friday.
Turkish Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with the Ukrainian President in Kiev, during an official visit on the request of Proshenko. After the closed meeting with the Ukrainian President, which was held just one day after the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 people on board was allegedly shot down in Ukrainian territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists, Cavusoglu told Anadolu Agency that Proshenko as well as PM Erdogan wish to further improve relations and cooperation between the two states.
Ukraine wants to fight corruption, to restructure the economy, implement social politics and to improve the infrastructure of the country, Cavusoglu said, adding that Turkey is ready to share its experiences in these fields.
After Cavusoglu's meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, he underlined that Turkey does not recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia. The two ministers agreed that Ukraine and Turkey must sign the free trade agreement and improve their relations as soon as possible.
Turkey was one of the countries that opposed Russian annexation of Crimea in March earlier this year, and repeatedly called for territorial integrity of Ukraine as Kiev faces big challenges in fighting pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country.
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