Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara “does not and will never recognise” the fact that the peninsula of Crimea has become part of the Russian Federation
“We attach great importance to protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including Crimea, whose annexation we will not recognize”, – the Turkish leader said during a speech to the 76th UN General Assembly.
Following the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine, the Crimean and Sevastopol authorities held a referendum on reunification with Russia. More than 96 per cent of the peninsula’s residents cast their votes in favour of accession to the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that the referendum was held in line with all necessary international norms, Ukraine refused to recognize the results of the vote and continues to consider Crimea “its own, but temporarily occupied territory”.
The head of the Crimean parliamentary committee for people’s diplomacy and interethnic relations, Yuriy Hempel, called Erdogan’s statement an “unfriendly invective” in a comment to RIA Novosti.
“Unfriendly invective against Russia can cost Erdogan dearly, and there are already many such examples in history. Erdogan can personally come to Crimea and see how a multinational Crimea lives and develops, where equal rights of all nations, including Crimean Tatars, are guaranteed”, – Hempel stressed.
As previously reported by News Front, the Turkish president plans to visit Russia before the end of September and meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.