Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed an offer from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mediate in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia and heralded a deepening of military and economic ties between the Black Sea neighbors.
The Turkish leader visited Kyiv on Thursday where the pair announced a free trade agreement, which Zelensky said could be worth up to $10 billion, and a military deal that would see Ukraine manufacture Turkish-designed combat drones that have been used against Russian-backed ‘separatists’ in eastern Ukraine.
“This is new technology, new jobs and a strengthening of the defensive capabilities of Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said of the drone deal, which will involve a Kyiv Region factory assembling the Turkish designed drone with Ukrainian-made engines by the end of the year.
“Today we’ve paid special attention to cooperation in the aviation and defense industries. This is one of the locomotives of our strategic partnership. Our goal is the implementation of specific projects to create joint ventures, exchange of experience, exchange of technologies. An agreement has been signed today that will expand the production of unmanned aerial vehicles,” Zelensky said at a joint briefing with Erdogan.
The announcement is sure to rile the Kremlin which has used proxies in Ukraine’s Donbas region to stoke an eight year conflict that has led to over 14,000 deaths.
Ukraine has already purchased several Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones, which the Ukrainian military has deployed since last fall.
The drone has proved so effective that Russian President Vladimir Putin complained to his Turkish counterpart about Ankara’s military assistance to Ukraine.
