President Recep Erdogan of Turkey plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about illegal referendums held in Moscow-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Mr Erdogan said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Turkey’s support for the affected regions and “that will convince Putin.”

The president said he would speak to Mr Putin on Thursday, saying, “I wish they wouldn’t hold referendums and that we could instead solve the problem diplomatically.”

The referendums recently held in four Russian-occupied regions in southern and eastern Ukraine are not internationally recognised because they were held in violation of Ukrainian and international laws and without minimum democratic standards.

Turkey is a member of the NATO defence alliance and has good relations with Ukraine, but it is also a close partner of Russia.

Messrs Putin and Erdogan could also discuss plans to build a new nuclear power station in Sinop in the Turkish Black Sea region.

According to local media, Mr Erdogan said talks with his Russian counterpart on the matter were underway.

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, is currently being built in southern Turkey, with the Russian state-owned Rosatom in charge of construction. 

(dpa/NAN)