Istanbul
\nTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned Russia against invading Ukraine, calling the former Soviet republic a \u201cpowerful\u201d country with international friends.
\nTurkey\u2019s supply of combat drones to Ukraine has drawn the wrath of Russia, which fears they could be used by Kyiv in its years-long conflict in two regions of the Moscow-backed separatist east. Speaking to Turkish reporters in Albania, Erdogan said he intended to discuss the rising tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
\n\u201cYou cannot handle these things by saying \u2018I will invade something, I will take it\u2019,\u201d Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying. \u201cI don\u2019t see Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine as a realistic option because it is not an ordinary country. Ukraine is a powerful country,\u201d said Erdogan, who backs Ukraine\u2019s Nato aspirations.
\nIn December, Putin criticised Ukraine for deploying Turkish attack drones, urging Ankara to put pressure on Kyiv not to use the military hardware, which has played a key role in conflicts in Libya and over Azerbaijan\u2019s separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has countered by saying it cannot be held responsible for how the drones are used by countries after they are sold.
\nErdogan said he has always opposed Russia\u2019s approach to Ukraine, criticising its 2014 annexation of Crimea. He added that Russia \u201cshould review the state of affairs in the world and its own state of affairs before deciding to take this step\u201d to invade.
\n\u201cWe need to rip war out of political history,\u201d Erdogan said. The West accuses Russia of deploying tanks, artillery and about 100,000 soldiers across Ukraine\u2019s northern and eastern borders in preparation for a possible invasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Istanbul Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned Russia against invading Ukraine, calling the former Soviet republic a \u201cpowerful\u201d country with international friends. Turkey\u2019s supply of combat drones to Ukraine has drawn the wrath of Russia, which fears they could be used by Kyiv in its years-long conflict in two regions of the Moscow-backed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-239552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n