President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued his intense diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday as he hosted his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, discussing the issue of migration.
In a joint press conference, the two presidents hailed bilateral ties as Duda conveyed his gratitude to Erdoğan for "sharing all the knowledge" on hosting migrants.
"Turkey is a very important state in the region. It has been making a lot of contributions and it plays a great role for peace," said the Polish president after the two leaders' meeting.
The most "important topic" in their discussions was the Russia-Ukraine war, said Duda, extending "gratitude" to Erdoğan and saying: "I know how hard he tries to ensure that peace prevails."
He also called on international organizations to join efforts to establish peace in Ukraine.
There are many opportunities and a great capacity to advance bilateral relations between the two countries, Duda said. "We have reiterated one more time that we hope our trade volume will exceed the figure of $10 billion."
Stressing that Poland wants military cooperation between the two countries to continue as well as economic cooperation, Duda said, "Last year we started very good cooperation in the field of defense. I believe that we will continue to develop this cooperation."
For his part, Erdoğan said: "As two NATO allies, we have exchanged views (on the Ukraine matter)."
He also said he would continue his contacts on the continuing war at the upcoming NATO leaders summit in Brussels on March 24.
"As Turkey, we continue our efforts to achieve a cease-fire. Indeed, my minister of foreign affairs (Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu) is holding talks in Moscow today. He will go to Ukraine tomorrow."
Erdoğan also announced that Turkey and Poland aim to establish a high-level strategic partnership council to further strengthen ties.
Poland's purchase of Turkish armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) earlier in 2021 marked the first time a NATO or European Union member state acquired drones from Turkey.
During his previous visit, Duda described Turkey as Warsaw's "strongest ally" in its region, saying he believes that the two countries can fend off outside threats from within NATO's framework.
At least 726 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine, and 1,174 have been injured, according to United Nations estimates. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights warns that true casualty tolls are likely "considerably higher," particularly in territories that remain under Ukrainian government control.
More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the global body.
