Türkiye, Ukraine seals deal for cooperation on Ukraine's reconstruction: president

ANKARA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Türkiye and Ukraine signed an agreement to reconstruct infrastructure in Ukraine damaged in the ongoing conflict with Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The deal was made on Thursday during Erdogan's first visit to Ukraine since the conflict broke out on Feb. 24, during which he had a trilateral meeting in Ukraine's western city of Lviv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

During his flight back home, Erdogan told reporters that the the meeting evaluated the physical damage to Ukraine's infrastructure and possible ways for Türkiye to extend support.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in early June that the country has begun the first stage of its post-conflict reconstruction. In May, Ukraine's state road agency Ukravtodor said the conflict has destroyed about 300 bridges and some 24,000 km of roads in Ukraine.

"We agreed to maintain our contacts at all levels in order to further strengthen our cooperation with our strategic partner Ukraine," Erdogan was quoted by Anadolu as saying.

Erdogan added that Zelensky asked him to mediate with Russia for the elimination of mines around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

The plant, one of the biggest nuclear power plants in Europe, has been under the control of Russian military forces since early March.

Guterres told a joint press conference in Lviv after the meeting that "military equipment and personnel must be withdrawn from the plant. Further deployment of forces or weapons at the facility must be avoided."