Poroshenko, Erdogan Discuss Free Trade Agreement

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone conversation last week, discussed an agreement on free trade (FTA) between Ukraine and Turkey, the press service of the Ukrainian leader announced.

The leaders of the two countries exchanged views on topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda, stressing the importance of speeding up the negotiation process for concluding an FTA between Ukraine and Turkey.

They also discussed ways to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy, aviation and defense spheres.

Poroshenko thanked Erdogan for his unchanged position on supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine and protecting the rights of the Crimean Tatars.

On March 28, Ukraine and Israel concluded talks on their own FTA, and approved an action plan for signing the agreement. In particular, it was planned to conduct a detailed legal check by the relevant authorities of both countries.

Earlier, the trade representative of Ukraine, Natalia Mikolskaya, specified that the FTA between Ukraine and Israel may contain a number of exceptions for some agricultural production groups. According to the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavel Klimkin, the potential of trade between Ukraine and Israel is worth $5 billion, with an annual growth of 20%.

By Dimitri Dolaberidze