Erdogan: West worsening Ukraine crisis

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the West for worsening the crisis over Ukraine, also hitting out at the international media for exacerbating the conflict.

"Unfortunately, the West until now has not made any contribution to resolving this issue. I can say they are only making things worse," Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying on Friday.

During an interview with reporters on his flight back from Kiev on Thursday, the Turkish leader also slammed US President Joe Biden's stance on the crisis, saying he "has not yet been able to demonstrate a positive approach."

Erdogan said no European leader had been able to resolve the issue, adding that Europe was suffering from "serious issues at the leadership level" after the departure of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday and repeated Turkey's offer to mediate the crisis between Kiev and Moscow, which Zelenskiy welcomed. Erdogan also proposed to host a summit between Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

Speaking to reporters on his return flight, Erdogan said Putin had "responded positively" to the idea.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish leader also slammed the international media's coverage of the crisis, which has relied heavily on US intelligence assessments that Moscow dismisses and Kiev has been cautious to accept.

"I believe the international media's escalation of the issue between Ukraine and Russia has caused more damage than good," the CNN Turk broadcaster quoted him as saying.

MG