As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the press conference after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, he hopes that the worrying events in Donbas would end as soon as possible.

"We hope that the worrying escalation we have observed in the field recently will end as soon as possible, the cease-fire will continue and the conflict will be resolved through dialogue on the basis of Minsk agreements. We are ready to provide any necessary assistance", - Erdogan said.

As Erdogan noted, Turkey wants a peaceful Black Sea.

"Our main goal is that the Black Sea continues to be a sea of peace, tranquility and cooperation", - Erdogan said.

According to Erdogan, Turkey supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"During the meeting, Turkey strongly defended the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We reaffirmed our principled stance of not recognizing the annexation of Crimea", - Erdogan said.

Following the press conference, the parties issued a 20-point joint declaration stating that they would "strengthen the strategic partnership" between the two countries.

"Ankara and Kiev have decided to step up joint efforts to enhance cooperation and coordination between the parties in the fields of economy, trade, tourism, security, defense industry, science, education and youth", - the statement said.