Erdoğan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.
“There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” Erdoğan told reporters.
Erdoğan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and UN-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
“We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17,” Erdoğan said.
“Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea as if it is the owner here,” said Zelensky, making his first trip to Turkey since Russia’s operation of Ukraine.
Erdoğan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August when he hoped to discuss the renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.
Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations with both to act as a mediator.
RHM/PR
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