Ukrainian ambassador welcomed Turkey's role as a mediator in the region, underlined importance of NATO membership for Ukraine.
The senior Ukrainian envoy in Turkey expressed thought on Monday that big actors should also take place in a Caucasian platform.
Sergiy Korsunsky, the newly appointed Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, said that big actors like the United States and the European Union (EU) should also join a stability and cooperation in the Caucasus, proposed by Turkey.
"Big actors like the EU and the United States should also take part in the platform, besides Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia because it will be difficult to develop this initiative without them," Korsunsky told AA correspondent in an exclusive interview. He also said that the initiative could not be achieved without big actors.
Korsunsky presented his credentials to Turkey's President Abdullah Gul at the end of October and officially began his mission in Turkey. The Ukrainian ambassador welcomed Turkey's role as a mediator in the region, underlined importance of NATO membership for Ukraine and expressed pleasure with Turkey's support to this membership.
Korsunsky said his country would become a full member of the alliance when it was economically, politically and militarily ready, and underscored importance of Ukraine's participation in NATO membership action plan. The ambassador said Ukraine was attaching importance to Georgia's territorial integrity. "Therefore, we will never accept so-called independence of Abkhazia and Ossetia," he said.
On Turkey's EU membership bid, Korsunsky said that he thought the EU was a bit afraid of Turkey and Ukraine because two countries were big and strong. "Therefore, the EU is not sure whether it could digest countries like ours," he said. Korsunsky said that it took too much to launch full membership negotiations between Turkey and the EU, and expressed his thought that Turkey was ready to become an EU member more quickly than many other countries.
"When Turkey becomes a member, it will enrich the EU politically, economically and culturally. It is also same about Ukraine," Korsunsky said. Korsunsky said 600,000 Ukrainians were visiting Turkey every year, and defined Turkey as a very interesting and beautiful country with its nature, culture and history.
Before he was appointed to Turkey, Korsunsky served as the director general of economic cooperation department at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Korsunsky served as a counselor at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States and Israel.
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