Erdogan May Visit Crimea To See What Really Happens There - Lavrov

Sumaira FH Published February 04, 2020 | 08:59 PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been invited to pay a visit to Crimea, and he has not rejected the invitation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, adding that the Turkish president could come to Crimea to see what happens there with his own eyes

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2020) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been invited to pay a visit to Crimea, and he has not rejected the invitation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, adding that the Turkish president could come to Crimea to see what happens there with his own eyes.

Erdogan reaffirmed on Monday Ankara's non-recognition of Crimea's reunification with Russia, adding that Ankara was monitoring closely the situation with Crimean Tatars. Meanwhile, the head of the Regional National and Cultural Autonomy of Crimean Tatars, Eyvaz Umerov, told Sputnik that he saw Erdogan's position as deprived of any logic.

"As for Turkey's position on Crimean Tatars, we have not heard anything new. Erdogan has been voicing the same position during his negotiations with Russian President [Vladimir] Putin, which are held regularly.

We are aware of this position of Ankara. We assume that one should see what happens in Crimea with one's own eyes ... Turkish President Erdogan has been invited to visit Crimea, and he has not rejected the invitation," Lavrov said.

He added no one had ever presented any proof of alleged violations of rights of Crimean Tatars or any other people living in Crimea.

Lavrov expressed hope that Turkey would not "play nice to" nationalists and radicals.

The Crimean Peninsula rejoined Russia after nearly 97 percent of voters supported the move in a March 2014 referendum. Ukraine alongside the majority of Western countries have not recognized the referendum results and have since imposed sanctions on Russia. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimea's residents decided to rejoin Russia through a democratic procedure, as the referendum was conducted in compliance with international law