Erdogan: Ukraine solution only through peaceful means, diplomacy

Ankara, 20 March 2015 (MIA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said prior to his visit to the Ukraine that his country supported the full implementation of the Minsk cease-fire.

"We believe that a lasting solution can only be found through peaceful means. During this process, all diplomatic possibilities should be exhausted and any opportunity of achieving permanent stability should be utilized to its full extent," Erdogan said.

Clashes, observed by international monitors, are ongoing in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russia separatists despite a cease-fire signed in Minsk. 

The president said that Ankara was concerned about the Ahiska Turks and Crimean Tatars living in Ukraine and Crimea, who -- like the rest of the society -- bore the brunt of months of fighting between government forces and separatist rebels.