Turkey’s deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran said Turkey will always defend Crimean cause on every platform while expressing strong support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine during United Nations Security Council unofficial meeting organized to commemorate the 7th anniversary of illegal Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Turkish government has consistently been defending Crimea against illegal Russian occupation from the day one while Ankara manages to cooperate with Moscow on several cross-border international issues.
Turkey maintained this position during United Nations Security Council unofficial meeting organized to commemorate the invasion of Crimea. Turkey’s deputy Foreign Minister Kiran expressed strong support for Crimea during the meeting while pointing out that illegal Russian occupation threatens the regional peace and security. “Political trials and unlawful arrests of Crimean Tatars cause great concerns,” Kiran said during UNSC meeting.
Turkish deputy minister also stressed the importance of defending territorial integrity of Ukraine. “We don’t recognize the illegal occupation. Our approach has legal and ethical bases. Our cooperation with Ukraine will continue to grow,” Kiran said. He also reiterated that it was international community’s responsibility to keep this issue on the agenda.
More than 25 thousand Crimean Tatars have forcefully been deported since the Russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014 following a revolution in Ukraine which erupted an a war in the Donbass region of the country. Turkey hosts more than 3 million Crimean Tatar-origin people, ethnic Turks originated in east Europe.
