Erdoğan welcomes Russia’s retreat from Ukraine’s Kherson

ANKARA

Russia’s decision to pull out of the Ukrainian city of Kherson in southern Ukraine was “positive and important,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 10.

“Russia’s decision regarding Kherson is positive, an important decision,” Erdogan told reporters before departing for a summit of Turkic countries in Uzbekistan.

Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Nov. 9 in a further major blow to its campaign amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Asked about a possible meeting with the Russian leader, Erdoğan said he did not know if there will be Russian participation in the G20 or not, but he might have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with Putin there, otherwise they would continue to maintain telephone diplomacy with him.

Asked about the process that Russia was convinced to resume grain export from Ukraine, the president said, “This is a leaders’ policy. We fulfilled the necessities of this leaders’ policy with Mr. Putin. Of course, if there was no confidence in each other, we would not be able to take this step and we would not be able to do it. But the confidence and respect we have for each other encourage us to take such steps.”

Stating that they have acted in this way so far, President Erdoğan said there was cooperation between Türkiye and Russia in the field of nuclear energy and it was possible to take a new step in nuclear energy regarding Sinop.

“The steps we have taken towards the defense industry, these encourage respect for each other,” he added.

Elaborating on the normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia, Erdoğan said the latter’s diasporas in France and the U.S. were hindering the process.

“The diasporas are constantly working against it, both in France and in the U.S.,” he said.

The U.S. could turn the negative efforts of these diasporas into a positive direction, Erdoğan stated.

“If they can achieve this, our perspective will change in a positive direction,” added the Turkish leader. “We strive to make friends, not enemies.”

Erdogan said he believes the Organization of Turkic States summit to begin in Samarkand today would carry cooperation between member nations to a new level.

Bilateral relations and global matters will be on the agenda in his contacts with heads of states and governments at the Turkic Council Summit, he added.

Erdoğan said, the Organization’s future and the deepening of the current avenues of cooperation would be discussed, and important decisions would be taken at the Samarkand Summit that will be held under the theme of “New Era for the Turkic Civilization: Towards Common Development and Prosperity.”

“I believe that the Samarkand Summit will further improve the cooperation among Turkic states, which share a common language, history and culture. As Türkiye we are proud that the Organization has been institutionalized and taken its prestigious place among the multilateral regional organizations,” President Erdoğan stated.