The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea today in Kyiv and promised to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Erdogan also said that Turkey will help build accommodation for 500 families of Crimean Tatars who moved to other parts of Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea.
The Crimean Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group, many of whose members opposed the Russian annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, which most countries do not recognize, while Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow because of that move.
At a press conference after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Erdogan said that "Turkey does not recognize the illegitimate annexation of Crimea" and that it "supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Zelensky said that Ukraine is counting on Turkey's help in releasing the Crimean Tatars arrested in Crimea.
Russian security forces in Crimea have arrested dozens of Crimean Tatars, accused of belonging to radical Islamist groups. Human rights activists dismiss the accusations as false.
Zelensky said that he also discussed with Erdogan the possibility of delivering natural gas to Ukraine via Turkey.
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