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Turkish-Ukrainian military cooperation not aimed at Russia, assures official

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also reaffirmed Ankara’s readiness to mediate in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis in any possible way

ANKARA, February 3. /TASS/. Current and future agreements between Turkey and Ukraine do not target Russia and are not related to the crisis between Moscow and Kiev, Turkey’s Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun told Bloomberg on Thursday.

The communications director noted that Turkey’s relations with Russia were not limited to the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system supplies and the ties with Ukraine were not only within the confines of the Bayraktar TB2 drone deal. According to Altun, Turkey is strengthening good neighborly relations with both countries in all spheres, including economic and social areas. "We’re not signing agreements for collaboration to target another country. Russia is among the first states to know that. The deals we have made and the ones we’ll clinch with Ukraine aren’t directly linked to the current crisis," the communications director emphasized.

The Turkish official also reaffirmed Ankara’s readiness to mediate in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis in any possible way, "including mediation, assistance and negotiations." According to Altun, Putin is going to visit Tukey as part of the next meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council soon.

Speaking about Turkey’s actions in case of Russia’s military steps against Ukraine, Altun noted that Ankara would make efforts to develop and implement a common policy. "As NATO members, we very actively engage in decision-making on international security issues," the communications director stated. "Of course, we will not forget other international agreements to which we are a party."

In recent years, Turkey has set up a production of combat drones not only to meet the needs of its own army but also for export. Currently, as many as six states use the Bayraktar TB2 drones, namely Azerbaijan, Qatar, Libya, Morocco, Poland and Ukraine. These drones were used during combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria and Libya.

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