ANKARA, MAR 11: “1st high-level contact between Russia, Ukraine at level of foreign ministers amid crisis has shown Antalya Diplomacy Forum began to achieve its purpose,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed in his comments on Friday.

“Turkey can never disregard acts of aggression against the sovereignty of a neighboring country,” Erdoğan underlined while referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“If the West had spoken out against the invasion of Crimea in 2014, current Russian-Ukraine crisis would have been prevented,” Erdoğan said in a statement by severely criticizing the West for remaining unresponsive towards Crimea issue.

Kyiv has been left alone in its righteous cause, Erdoğan stressed in his remarks related to the Russian war on Ukraine.

While supporting the legitimate struggle of Ukrainians, steps that may cast a shadow over it are never acceptable, the Turkish president pointed out.

Reiterating his call to reform UN Security Council, the Turkish president has voiced hope for calm and common sense to prevail in the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible. “Fascist practices against Russian nationals, culture in Western countries can never be acceptable,” Erdoğan warned while concluding his comments on the Ukraine crisis.