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Turkey won’t support extending conflict in Ukraine — Erdogan’s administration

"The goal of Turkey under any circumstances is to help the establishment of a fair peace," Director of communications of the Turkish presidency Fahrettin Altun said

ANKARA, June 27. /TASS/. Turkey won’t support extending the conflict in Ukraine, although it believes there are countries that see benefits in doing so, Fahrettin Altun, director of communications of the Turkish presidency, said in an interview to the Italian newspaper the Messaggero, which was released by the administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.

"The goal of Turkey under any circumstances is to help the establishment of a fair peace," he said. "On the other hand, there are actors that believe that it’s beneficial for them to extend this war as long as possible. They think that Russia will be weakened if the war drags on, and they support the Ukrainians only to the extent that enables them to prolong the war."

"Turkey has never been and never will be one of them. We must believe in peace and strive for it," he continued.

The official said that Turkey "with the start of war in Ukraine, stopped the passage of warships in the Black Sea, putting into practice the Montreux Convention." According to Altun, Ankara also "delivered a significant amount of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people."

The situation on the contact line in Donbass escalated on February 17. Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 announced the recognition of the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics. On February 24 Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics.