Russia warns Turkey over ties with Ukraine

Russia’s foreign minister on Monday warned Turkey against what he said were attempts to fuel “militaristic sentiment” in Ukraine after Ankara moved to boost cooperation with Kyiv.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last month pledged support to Kyiv amid a buildup of Russian forces along its border with Ukraine.

Erdogan said at the time that Turkey, a NATO member, and Ukraine had launched a platform with their foreign and defence ministers to discuss defence industry cooperation, but added that this was “not in any way a move against third countries”.

“We strongly recommend that our Turkish colleagues carefully analyse the situation and stop fuelling Kyiv’s militaristic sentiment,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

He said that encouraging “aggressive” Ukrainian actions towards Russian-annexed Crimea amounted to an encroachment on Russia’s territorial integrity.