Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed safe shipping in the Black Sea, reports "Reuters".
"I conveyed Ukraine's interest in further development of cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey, especially in the field of defense," wrote Sibiga on the X social platform.
"I also emphasized the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. We also discussed ways for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace."
Sibiga earlier called for support to halt stepped-up Russian strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea port infrastructure in comments made during a visit to Turkey on Monday.
He said such strikes in recent weeks have damaged four civilian ships.
Turkey has offered to act as a mediator to end the war in Ukraine and has tried to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kiev.
"We see the benefit of re-discussing initiatives that could serve peace, such as the Black Sea grain deal," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, referring to the deal to allow Black Sea exports from Ukraine's ports , in which Turkey was a mediator.
"I also discussed this with my colleague, we admire Ukraine's positive position on this issue.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative operated for about a year until Russia withdrew from the agreement in July 2023, saying the agreement's provisions were not being implemented.