Turkish, Ukrainian defense ministers meet amid bolstering defense ties

Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler met with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in Ankara on August 2.

This visit comes on the heels of a significant event in Istanbul on August 1, where a ceremony was held to launch the Ukrainian corvette Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi into the water, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Umerov, in a tweet, highlighted that this corvette, along with Hetman Ivan Mazepa, was built in Türkiye in response to Russian aggression. He noted that these corvettes, equipped with cutting-edge weapons, will significantly boost Ukraine's defense capabilities.

In addition to defense cooperation, Türkiye ratified a free trade agreement with Ukraine this week. The agreement, signed in February 2022, was approved by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on August 1. The bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $7.3 billion in 2023, with key trade sectors including iron steel, machinery, energy, automotive, and grain.