No one has the right to trade the territory of Ukraine and only the Ukrainian people will decide what settlement should be.
This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Ankara Vasily Bodnar in an interview with Anadolu on the occasion of Independence Day.
The diplomat noted that Ukraine has always felt the support provided by Turkey of the country’s territorial integrity.
The ambassador thanked the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish people and the state for supporting the territorial integrity, independence of Ukraine and its right to exist.
According to Bodnar, the relationship of Kyiv and Ankara becomes stronger than the day since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
“For 31 years of independence of Ukraine, we have developed a very close sphere of cooperation between the two countries, and this field of cooperation is quite wide. Our cooperation is based on the common history and mutual benefit, so it is constantly stronger,” said the Ukrainian diplomat.
He recalled that Turkish-Ukrainian relations are raised to the level of strategic partnership.
The rapprochement of the relations of Ankara and Kyiv, according to Bodnar, was also facilitated by the signing of the free trade agreement, visa -free regime, as well as cooperation in the field of defense.
Turkey and Ukraine play an important role in ensuring global food security and successfully implement the Black Sea grain initiative, he noted.
Bodnar also called the statement of the head of the office of the Office of NATO General Styan Jensen that Kyiv could abandon part of the territories in favor of Russia in exchange for membership in NATO. He recalled that Jensen already apologized for his words.
The Ukrainian diplomat also commented on the words of the former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy about the “illusoryness” of the plans of Ukraine to return the Crimea. According to Bodnar, the words of Sarkozy reflect his personal opinion and have nothing to do with the realities and position of the French leadership.
Bodnar rejected the words voiced by Jensen and Sarkozy, calling such sentences an attempt to check the position of Ukraine on this subject.
“No one has the right to trade in Ukrainian lands. Only our people decide what will be settlement for Ukraine. The decision today is the maximum liberation of land. We believe that this is within the borders of 1991,” the ambassador summed up.
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