Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "heavy blow" to regional peace.
"We reject Russia's military operation. This step, which we view as against international law, is a heavy blow struck on regional peace, harmony and stability," Erdoğan said in a televised speech.
The Turkish leader added that he conveyed Turkey's support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Thursday.
He said Turkey, which has a maritime border with both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, viewed both countries as friendly, and added he was "sincerely saddened" that Moscow and Kyiv were in conflict.
Erdoğan, whose government has friendly ties with Russia and Ukraine, had positioned Turkey, a member of NATO, as a neutral mediator for a resolution to the crisis.
He expressed "sincere sadness" over the fact that the two countries "with which we have close political, economic and social ties" were confronting each other.
In a separate statement, the foreign ministry urged Moscow to stop its "unjust and unlawful" invasion immediately.
"We consider the military operation... unacceptable and reject it," the ministry said.
"We call on the Russian Federation to stop this unjust and unlawful action as soon as possible."
Erdoğan, who stepped up diplomacy with phone calls to the Russian and Ukrainian leaders this week, said Turkey had no desire to abandon ties with either of the countries.
"We want this issue to be resolved without us having to choose between the two," he said in comments published in local media on Wednesday.
Turkey will continue to support Ukraine's territorial integrity and sees Russia's attack on it as unacceptable, the presidency said on Thursday in a statement after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired a security summit over Moscow's offensive.
"It was emphasized that Turkey would continue to support Ukraine's political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity," the presidency statement said.
It said the meeting, which lasted just under two hours, evaluated initiatives that could be taken with Russia and international platforms to halt the attack, which it said posed a threat to regional and global security.
