Zelenskyi meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defense of Turkey

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Minister of National Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar.

The press service of the Office of the President reports.

President stressed the special importance of the strategic partnership between Kyiv and Ankara and willingness to develop cooperation between the two countries further in all areas where there's mutual interest.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi welcomed the launch of a new bilateral cooperation mechanism between the parties, political and security consultations in the "Quadriga" format.

"We believe it's a historic moment. Our countries have never worked in this format. I congratulate both Ukraine and Turkey on the launch of the "Quadriga" format, in which we can move forward faster," President said.

Turkish officials have also reaffirmed Ankara's position on the illegal annexation of Crimea. President thanked the Turkish party for its willingness to join the work of the Crimean Platform, where Turkey has a special role to play.

The Turkish delegation congratulated Ukraine on gaining the status of a partner with NATO's enhanced capabilities.

The parties noted the mutual readiness to develop trade and economic cooperation in order to achieve the goal of $10 billion of bilateral trade set by the heads of states.

They discussed several practical issues in relation to implementing the Military Framework Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, October 16, 2020.

Following the talks, the parties confirmed the agreement to hold a regular meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council in early 2021.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi invited the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Kyiv.