Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Doha, March 27 (Reuters) – Turkey and other nations still need to talk to Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency said on Sunday, adding that Kyiv needed more support to defend itself. . NATO member Turkey has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has sought to mediate a month-long conflict. “If everyone is burning bridges with Russia, then who will talk to them at the end of the day,” Ibrahim Kalin told the Doha International Forum. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “The Ukrainians must be supported by all possible means so that they can defend themselves … but the Russian cause must be tried, one way or another,” so that its grievances can be understood if not are justified, Kalin added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the West to provide his country with tanks, planes and missiles to repel Russian forces. The West responded to the Russian invasion by imposing sweeping economic sanctions on Moscow. read more Ankara says Russia’s invasion is unacceptable, but opposes Western sanctions in principle and has not acceded to them. Turkey’s economy, already under pressure from the December currency crisis, relies heavily on Russian energy, trade and tourism, and since the start of the war on February 24, thousands of Russians have arrived in Turkey, considering it as a safe haven from sanctions. Ahmet Burak Daglioglu, head of Turkey’s investment bureau, told the forum separately that some Russian companies had relocated to Turkey. Asked in a panel about Turkey’s dealings with people who could benefit President Vladimir Putin, he said: “We do not aim, we do not hunt, we do not seek any investment or capital that is questionable. . “ Two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich have docked in Turkish resorts. read more Western governments have targeted Abramovich and several other Russian oligarchs with sanctions as they try to isolate Putin and his allies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Ghaida Ghantous, Andrew Mills and Jonathan Spicer. Edited by Edmund Blair and Gareth Jones Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
