Ambassador of Turkey: Ankara constantly raises issue of Crimea during contacts with Russia
The Ambassador made a corresponding statement at a meeting with First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine informs.
"The Turkish Ambassador stressed that the issue of Crimea and the situation with Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin are on the agenda of Turkish diplomacy and are constantly raised by Ankara during the contacts with the Russian side," the statement reads.
The Deputy Minister thanked Turkey for its support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and the policy of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea.
"For us, Turkey's consistent position on the strategic nature of relations is extremely important, as well as its clear position on territorial integrity, which Turkey demonstrates within the framework of international organizations. In addition, one of the priorities for Ukraine’s top political leadership is to release Ukrainian citizens from prisons in the occupied territories. We also count on this dimension of cooperation," she said.
Dzheppar underscored the need to bring the full range of consequences of Russia’s aggression in Crimea and the Black Sea region to a fundamentally new international level with an emphasis on the security and defense dimension.
"Today, the international rhetoric about Crimea mostly concerns human rights. I consider this approach to be narrow and limited as the occupation of Crimea and its militarization are not only the "internal" affairs of Ukraine but also an issue that has a much greater geographical coverage. It extends to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. This is the issue of military and food security of the countries of these regions," the First Deputy Minister clarified.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the implementation of the agreement between the presidents of Ukraine and Turkey on the construction of housing for 500 families of Crimean Tatars.
Dzheppar thanked the Turkish side for providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to counter the spread of COVID-19.
For his part, the Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine assured that the Turkish authorities were making all necessary efforts to ensure that the health of tourists is protected on their territory.
In this regard, the interlocutors expressed hope for the resumption of scheduled flights between Ukraine and Turkey in the near future.
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