Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and Secretary-General of Italy's Foreign Ministry Ettore Sequi on Tuesday discussed bilateral ties, the Russia-Ukraine war and developments in Libya.

In a meeting in the capital Ankara, the two officials talked about the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

According to a statement released by Ankara, the reflections of the war on food security, energy security and the global economy were evaluated.

As the war between Russia and Ukraine sent energy and food prices soaring, Oxfam warned that fallout from the conflict, growing inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic could push more than a quarter of a billion people into extreme poverty this year.

Concern was expressed about the increasing number of Ukrainian refugees, the statement also added.

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, more than 68,000 Ukrainians have fled to Turkey, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said last week.

The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia following its war on Ukraine, which has led to an exodus of millions of people seeking safety in other European countries. Poland has hosted the most refugees.

In the meeting, which emphasized the deep-rooted relations between Turkey and Italy, it was also stated that the volume of bilateral trade should reach the target of $30 billion (TL 437 billion) in a short time.

It was underlined that the cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense and energy would increasingly continue.