Türkiye, Hungary reaffirm importance of ensuring cease-fire in Ukraine war

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - Ankara and Budapest both stressed the importance of establishing a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible to stop the bloodshed, the Turkish national defense minister said on Monday.

"We reaffirmed that we respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and rights of all our neighbors, especially Ukraine," Hulusi Akar said at a news conference in the capital Ankara with his visiting Hungarian counterpart Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

"We expressed the importance of establishing a cease-fire as soon as possible and stopping the deteriorating humanitarian situation and bloodshed.”

Akar added that Szalay-Bobrovniczky expressed his gratitude for Türkiye's contributions to both opening a shipping corridor through the Black Sea, thus helping solve the global food crisis, as well as a prisoner exchange last month between Russia and Ukraine.

Akar also said they discussed bilateral and regional issues, including NATO, and Türkiye's efforts in the fight against terrorism.

"We exchanged views on the potential between Türkiye and Hungary in the defense industry. We saw that we have cooperation opportunities in many fields. We are determined to enhance these as well," he said.

For his part, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the views of both countries on the war are clear. Hungary is on the side of peace, adding: "As we have always emphasized, we encourage the immediate start of cease-fire and peace talks. We agree with our Turkish friends on these issues."

Szalay-Bobrovniczky said he visited Türkiye to further strengthen "trust-based" relations in the defense arena.

"We equip our army with modern, NATO-compliant equipment. We trust the Turkish defense industry in this regard," he added.

Following their meeting, the defense chiefs signed a military framework agreement to further enhance bilateral relations.

* Writing by Diyar Guldogan in Ankara