Why does Erdogan not recognize Crimea as Russia's?
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan does not recognize Crimea as part of Russia, because he is playing the “old game”, pursuing his personal election goals - Crimean political scientist Denis Baturin commented.
Earlier, at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Erdogan said that "Türkiye has not and will not recognize the annexation of Crimea." In turn, the head of the Vatan ("Homeland") party, Dogu Perincek, said that the Turkish president should recognize the unification of Crimea with Russia, if Ankara considers itself a strategic partner of Moscow.
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| Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Sputnik |
"This is Erdogan's old game. He does not recognize Crimea as Russian, but he bought S-400s from Russia and is in conflict with the United States. He pursues his own electoral goals, and when he talks about the interests of Crimean Tatars, he addresses the entire community in Türkiye first of all. We should not expect any other nice words from the Turkish president," Baturin told Sputnik.
In the view of political researchers, Erdogan is creating serious political risks for himself and the country with such a policy.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held in March 2014, in which 96.77% of voters in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents supported joining Russia. The Crimean authorities held the referendum after the coup in Ukraine.
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| The 5th anniversary of Crimea's annexation to Russia. Photo: Sputnik |
Ukraine still considers Crimea its territory, but temporarily “occupied by Russia”. Russian leaders have repeatedly stated that the Crimean people, democratically, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter, voted to reunify with Russia. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimean issue is completely closed.