Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan departed on Sunday for a four-day tour to three African countries upon the invitation of his counterparts but had to postpone his upcoming visit to Guinea-Bissau as he will now attend the NATO Leaders' Summit on Ukraine amid Russia's move to recognize separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions as independent.
According to a statement by the Presidency on Tuesday, Erdoğan will arrive in Turkey after attending the online meeting from Senegal.
Earlier on the same day, Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey has sent clear messages regarding the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, urging common sense to prevail and for both sides to adhere to international law, as he called President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of Ukraine’s separatist regions "unacceptable."
Speaking to reporters on the presidential plane, who attended his tour of African countries, Erdoğan said Ankara has made it clear that Turkey is against Russia’s recognition of separatist regions.
"We have been sincerely striving to de-escalate tensions in this crisis and sent our messages regarding the solution of the issue," he said, adding that Russia’s recognition is a clear violation of Ukraine’s political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On Monday, Putin ordered a "peacekeeping operation" in Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions after recognizing the separatist regions' independence, paving the way to provide them more military support – a direct challenge to the West that will fuel fears that Russia could imminently invade Ukraine.
Erdoğan also criticized the Munich summit for being ineffective.
"In my opinion, the Munich Conference was nothing but a NATO summit," Erdoğan said, as he also criticized statements by the United States.
