You're reading: Poroshenko looks to Turkey for help in Black Sea

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in his greetings to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations said that ensuring peace in the Black Sea region is a shared responsibility of Ukraine and Turkey.

In his message to the Turkish president, Poroshenko stressed over the past 25 years the friendly bilateral relations between the two nations have deepened and created a solid foundation for the Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation, the Ukrainian president’s press service reported on Friday.

Poroshenko said the expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries will promote the signing of a free trade area agreement.

He also recalled the two countries have moved to the implementation of projects in the defense industry.

For his part, Erdogan in his greetings to Poroshenko noted that the challenges, which the two countries face at the regional and international levels proved once again that the Turkish-Ukrainian friendship rests on a solid foundation, and our cooperation has deepened more in every area.

“No doubt, our excellent relations with friendly Ukraine will continue to develop in the near future. Turkey will undoubtedly support the settlement in the region based on the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our strategic partner of Ukraine,” the Turkish president said and expressed the hope that his visit to Ukraine, which is scheduled in the coming months, will give a new impetus to relations.