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.
“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.
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)
