Erdogan urges Putin to visit Ankara "as soon as possible"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged his Russian counterpart on Wednesday, February 24 to visit his country "as soon as possible," according to an official statement.

"President Erdogan noted that he would like to welcome Russian President [Vladimir] Putin in Turkey for the High-Level Cooperation Council Meeting as soon as possible, as had been agreed upon during his visit to Sochi in September," said the Turkish Communications Directorate following a phone call between the two leaders, Yeni Safak reports.

During the call that addressed rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Erdogan emphasized the "great importance" that he attached to his close dialogue with Putin which "yielded favorable outcomes," adding that he was determined to maintain this approach.

He also underlined that, as a matter of principle, Ankara does not recognize recent steps by Moscow that violated "Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," while highlighting the importance of reaching a solution to the dispute between the two countries on the basis of the Minsk agreements.

The Kremlin said Putin told Erdogan about the "necessity" of his decision to recognise east Ukraine's rebel Donetsk and Lugansk republics — a move that opens the door to the presence of the Russian army there, the Moscow Times reported.

Putin said the decision was taken "in the conditions of the aggression of Ukrainian authorities in Donbas and their categorical refusal" to abide to a peace agreement, the Kremlin said.