The Protocol Departments of the Ukrainian President and of the Turkish Premier had a conflict in preparing Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan’s visit to Kiev.

The Turks flatly refused to visit the Memorial to the Holodomor victims, which is obligatory for all officials visiting the country.

On January 24, the conflict reached its climax, when official Ankara demanded that the visit be reduced to a working one lest the Turkish Premier should find himself near the memorial.

Turkey, which is often accused of having committed Armenian Genocide early last century, is very sensitive to similar historical events in other countries.

The Ukrainian side exerted efforts to convince the Turkish foreign office and the Premier’s office that Kiev assigns a different meaning to the term “Holodomor.”

A couple of hours before Erdogan’s departure, a source at the Administration of Ukrainian President confirmed the visit had been raised up to an official one.