Turkey, Poland agree on more diplomatic efforts for Ukrainian crisis

ANKARA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Poland agreed to step up diplomatic efforts to end the Ukrainian crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

"We mainly discussed the developments in Ukraine and Russia, as well as our bilateral relations. As two NATO allies, we had a detailed exchange of views. In this process, we will continue our consultation and cooperation with Poland," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Duda paid a visit to Turkey on Wednesday to discuss with the Turkish president ways to defuse the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Erdogan welcomed the Polish president in Ankara as part of Turkey's mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine.

"We continue our attempts to achieve a ceasefire," Erdogan said, adding that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will continue "shuttle diplomacy" visiting Ukraine on Thursday after his talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Wednesday.

Erdogan said he would attend the NATO summit in Brussels on March 24 and hold talks on the process regarding Russia and Ukraine.

The Turkish president also praised Poland for hosting Ukrainian refugees. "Having hosted the largest number of refugees in the world for eight years, Turkey understands Poland best," he said.

Duda, for his part, said the main issue of the talks with Erdogan was the Ukrainian crisis and they also discussed the refugee influx from Ukraine to Poland.

"Today, approximately 2 million refugees have entered Poland. According to our calculations, 100,000 people cross the border every day. Today we can talk about a refugee crisis," Duda said.

Elaborating on bilateral ties between Turkey and Poland, the Polish president said his country wants to enhance cooperation with the Turkish government in the defense industry in addition to the economic collaboration.