KIEV
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev. Davutoglu has said his talks during a one-day stay in Ukraine mainly focused on problems Ukraine's Tatar community faced.
"We have discussed some very fundamental problems our Tatar brethren faces and we really have achieved serious progress," Davutoglu told The Anadolu Agency.
Davutoglu said the most important part of his talks in Ukraine was a three-hour meeting with Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Crimean Prime Minister Anatoliy Mogilev and Mustafa Kirimoglu, chairman of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly.
Davutoglu said Crimea's Tatars faced problems in many fields from education to culture, adding that a similar meeting would be held again in the coming months.
Flow of history in Eurasia felt in Kiev
Addressing around 150 Ukrainian ambassadors serving in various parts of the world in Kiev, Davutoglu said earlier that Kiev was reconstructed for centuries but was able to protect the same spirit.
"Kiev resembles Istanbul. You can not understand the history of Eurasia without understanding Kiev. Those who can not understand Istanbul can not understand the history of the Balkans, the Middle East and Europe," Davutoglu noted.
"The world is now going through a new term and this must be interpreted accurately. Ukraine is one of the most crucial countries in this new era. Certain intellectuals brand Ukraine as a land of war between the east and west and describe Turkey as an indecisive country. Why should we be a land of war between the east and west or be an indecisive country? This is our destiny. This is a gain for us," Davutoglu also said.
Ukraine central and important countries
Davutoglu has said that Turkey and Ukraine were central and important countries that would shape up the East and the West as well as Europe and Asia.
Addressing around 150 Ukrainian ambassadors serving in various parts of the world in Kiev on Tuesday, Davutoglu said that Turkey was both Asian and also European country. "Turkey is also a country of Caucasus, the Middle East and Balkans," he said.
"Turkey's geography is an asset for us. You can change policies but cannot change geography and history," he said.
"Three important quakes took place in the world in the past 20 years," he said, adding that one of them was the end of the Cold War, the second one was 9/11 attacks and the third one was 2011 crisis.
