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Erdogan Says Russian Invasion of Ukraine Not Realistic

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo
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Erdogan Says Russian Invasion of Ukraine Not Realistic

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was cited on Tuesday as saying the prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine was not realistic and that he needed to discuss the crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The West has voiced fears of a possible invasion of Ukraine by tens of thousands of Russian troops gathered near its border. Russia has denied such plans.

"I don't view Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a realistic approach because Ukraine is not an ordinary country. Ukraine is a strong country," Erdogan told reporters on a trip to Albania on Monday, according to broadcaster NTV, Reuters reported.

"For Russia to take that step, it would need to revise the situation in the whole world and its own," he said, adding the region could not accept a war anymore and that such a move will "not be right".

"Of course, we need to put these issues on the table with Mr Putin and discuss them."

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Freed Spanish Hostage Set to Land in Algerian Air Base

Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
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Freed Spanish Hostage Set to Land in Algerian Air Base

Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights

A plane carrying Spanish hostage Gilbert Navarro, who was kidnapped in North Africa on Jan. 17, was expected to land in Algeria's Boufarik air base, Algerian state media reported on Tuesday.
His expected arrival at the Algerian air base comes after a Tuareg rebel alliance in northern Mali said late on Monday they had released Navarro, Reuters said.
Spain's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a Spanish man had been kidnapped in North Africa.
El Pais newspaper reported that the man was kidnapped in southern Algeria by an
extremist group and taken to Mali, though the Foreign Ministry did not confirm that information.
In a post on X, one of the leaders of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said Spanish national Gilbert Navarro "kidnapped in Algeria a few days ago" and transported by his captors to north Mali had been freed by FLA forces on Monday. An FLA spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said on X that the FLA had freed Navarro, who was in good health, and that more details would follow.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Spain is in a dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara, which was controlled by Spain until 1975 and is now claimed by Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks its independence.