Erdogan stands by Kiev amid heightened border fears

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provided diplomatic support for Ukraine on Saturday as tensions with Russia sharpen over its military buildup on their shared border.

Erdogan also underscored Ankara's conviction that it would not recognize what he termed "Crimea's annexation" by Russia.

He called for the "worrying "developments in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul.

Despite close military cooperation between Turkey and Russia, Erdogan told a news conference after the talks with Zelensky that Turkey will hold firm on not recognizing Crimea's incorporation into Russia.

"We stand for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Erdogan said. "We reiterated our principles behind our decision not to recognize Crimea's annexation.

"We said we support Ukraine's initiative of the Crimean Platform geared to consolidate the international community around Crimea. We hope this initiative will yield positive results for all Crimean peoples, including Crimean Tatars, and for Ukraine."

Crimean Tatars have ethnic links to Turkey.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been deteriorating since Russia incorporated Crimea into its territory in March 2014 following a referendum on the peninsula. Ukraine says the region was annexed.

Kiev has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border with Ukraine, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and separatists in Donbass.

Concerns fueled

The Russian military movements have fueled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat, but says they will remain as long as it sees fit.

The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine's eastern border than at any time since 2014. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea this week.

"We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the cease-fire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements," Erdogan said, referring to deals agreed by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

"We are ready to provide any support necessary for this."

Zelensky said Turkey's support was important for the "restoration "of Ukraine's territories.

The positions of Kiev and Ankara coincided on threats in the Black Sea and the response to those threats, he said.

Erdogan said Turkey's cooperation with Ukraine did not mean it was taking a stance against any other countries.

Russia had not responded to Erdogan's remarks by Sunday. But during a phone call on Friday, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concerned that Ukraine "recently resumed dangerous provocations on the contact line" in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said.