Ouagadougou: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Thursday against "direct conflict" between NATO and Russia, telling a summit of the alliance aimed at supporting Ukraine that diplomacy should also be an option on Table. "I said frankly that NATO should never be allowed to participate in the war in Ukraine," Erdogan said at a press conference following NATO's 75th anniversary summit.Mr Erdogan said Turkey, the rare NATO member not to join sanctions against Russia, supported 'the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine'.But he 'also stressed that diplomacy should not be ruled out and that negotiations did not necessarily mean capitulation.'NATO members, who met until Thursday evening in the American capital in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, decided to strengthen its aid to kyiv by sending fighter planes and anti-defense batteries. -Aerial.The Kremlin said in response that NATO was 'fully involved' in the conflict in Ukraine, adding that it was planning 'measur es' to 'counter' this 'serious threat'.Mr. Erdogan found the prospect of a 'direct conflict between NATO and Russia worrying' on Thursday, according to comments reported by the official Turkish Anadolu agency.Ankara, which has one of NATO's main armies located on its eastern front, has so far remained equidistant from Moscow and kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.Mr. Erdogan, however, estimated last year that Ukraine "fully deserves" to join NATO, the importance of which he underlined on Thursday as an international organization.'We do not think that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an alternative to NATO,' he indicated. 'Similarly, we do not consider the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) as an alternative to any other structure,' he also warned.The Turkish president announced in 2022 his intention to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which brings together several countries with tense relations with the West, including Russia, China and Iran.He attended his summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, last week as a 'dialogue partner' and met Russian President Vladimir Putin there.Regarding Israel's ongoing war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, Erdogan warned of an expansion of the conflict: 'Israel's threats and attempts to expand the conflict must stop. Otherwise, our region will face the risk of deeper conflicts, even war,' he said.Source: Burkina Information Agency