Relations between Russia and Turkey are developing, the restriction of air traffic is not associated with bilateral relations. This was announced on Friday, April 16, by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov during a press conference.
He explained that the measure was taken solely due to the worsening situation with the coronavirus pandemic in Turkey.
Commenting on the talks between Ankara and Kiev, Peskov stressed that this is a personal matter of the states.
“As for the talks between President Erdogan and President Zelensky, again, these are bilateral relations between the two states. Their statements on Crimea fall into a category of issues on which we still have serious disagreements. These disagreements can hardly be settled with the Ukrainian side, ”the press secretary said.
Nevertheless, according to him, the Kremlin hopes that Moscow’s consistent line will make it possible to convince Turkish partners of the incorrectness of Ankara’s position on Crimea.
The day before, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara has excellent relations with both Russia and Ukraine. According to him, now there is a discord between Kiev and Moscow, largely due to the positions on the Donbass. But Ankara will not support either side and will remain neutral.
On April 11, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia will be able to peacefully resolve the existing differences in the near future.
The day before, a meeting between Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took place in Istanbul. After meeting with Zelensky, Erdogan said that Turkey does not recognize the “annexation of Crimea” and supports the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine. On April 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Ankara and other capitals not to react to fueling Kiev’s militaristic sentiments.
On April 9, it was reported that Ukraine had acquired the Turkish Bayraktar attack drones; a day later, it became known about the first use of Bayraktar drones in Donbass.
Crimea became a region of Russia after a referendum held there in the spring of 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted to join Russia. Kiev and Western countries refuse to recognize the voting results.
Kiev is conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup in the country. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities blame Russia for the current situation. Moscow has repeatedly noted that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and called on Kiev to negotiate with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as to implement the Minsk agreements.