Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Istanbul to sign military and defence cooperation agreement.

A declaration of intent between the Ukrainian Defence Minister Andrii Taran and Turkey's Defence Industries President Prof. İsmail Demir is among the signed documents.

A framework military agreement between the Ukrainian government and the government of the Republic of Turkey was also signed.

” The memorandum enshrines the desire of Ukraine and Turkey to develop their defence-industrial programs and strengthen defence capabilities, as well as to establish mutually beneficial long-term cooperation based on mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests. The document outlines the intentions of the parties to launch and implement joint projects for the construction of warships, UAVs and all types of turbine engines,” the Ukrainian presidential press service said later on Friday.

“The agreement is concluded in order to create a legal basis for the expansion and deepening of existing Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in the field of defence, as well as defines the procedure for such cooperation. The document, in particular, defines the areas of cooperation, principles of cooperation, security regime of classified information, the procedure for exchanging intelligence information, legal regulation of the activity of specialists seconded by each party, compensation for possible damages, dispute resolution, etc.,” the press service said.

 A press meeting was held after the meeting. President Erdoğan reminded that he had visited Kyiv in February 2020 and they want to reach 10 billion $ trade volume.  Turkey does not and never will recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea, President Erdoğan said and added; “We have and always will support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over Crimea”