Zelensky elaborates on talks with Erdogan on Ukraine-Turkey FTA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has agreed with his counterpart, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to analyze all controversial issues on the way to signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the countries.

Read alsoZelensky: Ukraine, Turkey have "common vision" of security in Black Sea regionHe made the comment at a joint press conference with Erdogan following bilateral talks in Istanbul, as reported by an UNIAN correspondent on April 11.

The sides focused mainly on trade and economic relations between the countries.

"Further liberalization of bilateral trade is of prime importance to them. The signing of a Free Trade Agreement can significantly boost its volume," Zelensky said.

At the same time, the Ukrainian president says the two countries are well aware that the signing of the FTA is a very important step that must be taken in keeping with the national interests of each side.

"We've agreed with President Erdogan that the relevant institutions of our countries will perform a very substantive audit of all controversial issues and reach a mutual compromise that will open the way for signing this important document," he added.

In turn, Erdogan expressed his belief that both states would be able to sign the agreement as soon as possible. "And thus we'll achieve our goal to reach US$10 billion in trade [per year]," he emphasized.

Background

• In March 2016, Ukraine and Turkey resumed negotiations on a free trade area, which were suspended in 2013.
• In November 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that work on the FTA with Ukraine should be completed by the end of the year. "We think we will be able to achieve our goal of US$10 billion in trade balance thanks to this deal," he said.
• In 2018, trade between the countries stood at about US$4 billion.
• In 2020, bilateral trade totaled US$5 billion.
• In February 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine-Turkey trade should increase to US$10 billion.