Bilateral Cooperation Between Ankara and Kyiv Can Be Considered Exemplary

Based on the materials of the roundtable “Military-Political Alliance of Türkiye and Ukraine as a Factor of Security and Stability in the Baltic-Black Sea-Caspian Region”

Speaking about Ukraine’s bilateral cooperation, it is worth noting the extremely active dialogue we have been having with Türkiye for many years. In many respects, this bilateral dialogue can be considered exemplary. This is evidenced by  Türkiye’s consistent and clear support for the integrity and sovereignty of our country, for which we are grateful, in particular, to President Erdogan. In this case, consistency is important as it shws the stability of our relations, the positions of the parties and confirms the appropriate predictability of their activities.

Türkiye  is one of the countries that has been systemically supporting Ukraine through resolutions of international organizations since 2014. And in many resolutions, it has acted as a co-author, which is also very important, especially if we take into consideration  the last 10 years.

It should also be noted that  Türkiye  is active not only in international organizations such as the UN, but also in our Ukrainian initiatives with partners. Under the current circumstances, this is extremely important. Here, for example, we can mention the international Crimea Platform when we raise the issue of de-occupation of Crimea or the situation of Crimean Tatars. After all, the International Crimea Platform is directly aimed at both the de-occupation of Crimea and determining the ways to achieve this.

On the other hand, when we talk about the security component on a larger scale, we must keep in mind the Black Sea Security Conference, where  Türkiye, as one of the parties, is also extremely active.

By the way, in their speeches, participants of the roundtable focused on the spheres of our bilateral cooperation. In general, its practical implementation is already underway in many spheres, and very actively. One of those is mine action, which is also an initiative of the Black Sea states. Türkiye  is certainly among them. For example, if we are talking about Mine CounterMeasures (MCM), which means mine action, i.e., measures to clear the sea  of mines and other dangerous objects – this is a trilateral initiative on demining in the Black Sea – we are discussing the possibility of  Bulgaria, Romania and  Türkiye also joining this initiative. In this case, we reiterate that  Türkiye  is an undisputed regional leader, a very active and extremely important country. Therefore, it is first of all  in our interest to develop relations with Ankara as actively as possible.

Here  rises another question – about our development strategy, in particular, whether our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has one or not, and what was proposed 10 or 20 years ago. In my opinion, my colleagues are well aware that one of the indicators of stability and longevity is the systemic approach, independence from certain cycles within the state or outside it.

In this regard, there are completely different approaches and visions. In particular, there are countries with which we need to work out various approaches, choosing the most favorable one for us. There are different aspects of such cooperation. In this case, Türkiye  is a country with which our relations are clear, transparent and understandable.

Yanosh Hryshchenko,
Acting Head of the Türkiye and South Caucasus Division
of the Second Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine