Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that he believes Russia had nothing to do with the incident with the rocket that fell in Poland.
"I have to respect Russia's position, which said it was not its missile. This is important for us," Erdogan said when asked by TASS following his participation in the G-20 summit in Bali.
The Turkish leader also called for a detailed investigation into the incident.
In addition, Erdogan called US President Joe Biden's statements that "these were not Russian-made missiles" important. "[German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz said that they are in contact with each other as six NATO countries. There was also a statement by Biden. I think the insistence that the missiles were Russian-made will provoke this issue. We are trying to get Russia and Ukraine to the same negotiating table as soon as possible. In this regard, we believe that such a method as provocation is not the right one. The way to peace is through dialogue," the Turkish president added.
On Tuesday afternoon, there was an explosion in the village of Przewodow (Lublin Voivodeship), located in eastern Poland on the border with Ukraine. According to Polish authorities, a rocket fell in the area. Two Polish citizens were killed. An investigation is underway with the participation of foreign experts. According to Polish President Andrzej Duda, there is no evidence yet of who fired the missile.
On Tuesday, the Russian defense ministry called the Polish media and officials' statements about the alleged Russian missiles dropping near Przewodow a provocation; there were no strikes by Russian weapons near the Ukrainian-Polish border. The Russian ministry pointed out that the pictures of the wreckage published by the Polish media from the site of the incident had nothing to do with the Russian missiles.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS