Turkey will provide financial aid to the Ukrainian army, Ukraine’s ambassador in Ankara has said, adding that a deal is to be signed between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Erdoğan’s visit to Kyiv, Gazete Duvar English service reported.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Sibiga said the aid consists of TL 200 million ($33.4 million) and will be spent on the needs of the Ukrainian army.
“According to the deal that will be signed during this trip, the Turkish side will provide financial aid worth 200 million lira for the needs of the Ukrainian army, especially for purchasing weapons,” Sibiga told Ukrainian media.
“Similar agreements with these numbers were also signed in previous years,” he added.
Erdoğan arrived in Kiev on Feb. 3 for a meeting with Zelensky and the eighth meeting of the Ukraine-Turkey High Level Strategic Council.
Before leaving Turkey, Erdoğan said Turkey does not and will not recognize the “illegal annexation of Crimea.”
“We frequently talk about these issues with Ukrainian authorities and Crimean leadership. The situation of our brothers in Crimea remains one of the main topics to be discussed in our meetings in Kiev,” he said.
Ankara and Moscow are at odds over the occupation of Crimea by Russia.