NEW YORK — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that Russia and Ukraine “both” need a “dignified way out” of their conflict.
“Together, we need to find a reasonably practical diplomatic solution that will give both sides a dignified way out of the crisis,” Erdogan said Tuesday in New York through a translator.
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Erdogan underscored his role in brokering a deal between Russia and Ukraine that permitted the shipment of grain from Ukrainian port cities, describing the Black Sea Grain Initiative as one of the U.N.’s “greatest” achievements in recent decades.
“It is imperative that we structure [the] U.N. as an organization that can produce solutions for a more just world order, where a common will is brought for all humanity,” he said.
Erdogan’s appearance at the annual summit coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming the pair had discussed “current security issues” on the phone. Zelensky will address the body on Wednesday via video. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the summit.
Erdogan told PBS during a sit-down interview this week prior to his remarks that he has “asked” Putin “to return Crimea to its rightful owners.”
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“Since 2014, we have been talking to my dear friend Putin about this, and this is what we have requested from him,” Erdogan said. “But since then, unfortunately, no step has been taken forward.”
Erdogan, as president of a NATO country, has been criticized for his close ties to Putin and for initially opposing Finland’s and Sweden’s membership applications.
