Ukraine deserves NATO membership – Erdoğan

Turkish leader Recep Erdogan said that Ukraine deserves to be a NATO member during a joint briefing with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The briefing stream of Ukraine's President's Office shared this quote.

Ukraine deserves NATO membership.

And I want to emphasise one point in your presence once again: no one will lose from the coming of a just peace, he said.

Erdoğan also said that Türkiye would help Ukraine "get back on its feet".

Our construction companies, which lead this market in Ukraine, will help our Ukrainian friends rebuild their country, the Turkish president emphasized.

On July 7, President Zelensky arrived in Istanbul to have talks with the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During his meeting, Zelensky discussed the "grain deal," the upcoming NATO summit and security guarantees for Ukraine, Kyiv's "peace formula," and the return of Ukrainian prisoners from Russian captivity.

Turkish TV channel A Haber claims Erdogan is likely to speak with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin after his meeting with Zelensky.

Zelensky's visits to world leaders

Over the past few days, Ukraine's president has been making working visits to European countries as part of his new tour.

On July 6, he visited Bulgaria, where he held talks with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and President Rumen Radev.

In the evening, Zelensky arrived in the Czech Republic, where he met and held a press conference with President Petr Pavel.

On July 7, Zelensyy also announced that he was planning a visit to Slovakia. He held talks with President Zuzana Caputova and announced that both states had signed a contract for the joint production of the Zuzana 2 howitzers.