Russian Senator Calls Erdogan's Remark On Crimea Nostalgia For Middle Ages

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's calling Crimea's reunification with Russia annexation is dictated by nostalgia for the Middle Ages, Ekaterina Altabaeva, who represents Sevastopol in Russia's upper house, told Sputnik on Wednesday

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2021) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's calling Crimea's reunification with Russia annexation is dictated by nostalgia for the middle Ages, Ekaterina Altabaeva, who represents Sevastopol in Russia's upper house, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Erdogan noted the importance of preserving Ukraine's territorial integrity, including the territory of "annexed" Crimea. The Turkish leader also pointed to the need to make more efforts to protect the rights of the Crimean Tatars.

"We understand Turkey's interests in relation to the Crimean Peninsula. And this is probably a kind of nostalgia for very ancient medieval times. But the decision of Crimea's residents, including the Crimean Tatars, is indisputable and final. Modern politicians can express their point of view, and this is their right. But we will strictly follow our constitution. An attempt on the territorial integrity of Russia is a bad story," Altabaeva said.

Another member of the Russian upper house, Sergei Tsekov, told Sputnik that the Turkish authorities should face the reality.

"No matter how much Erdogan says that Crimea has been annexed by Russia, that they do not recognize it, and so on, the situation will not change anyway. Erdogan needs to take a real look at the situation and understand how important Crimea is for Russia," the official, who represents the peninsula, said.

Commenting on the situation with the Crimean Tatars, he said that Turkey did not really care about them even when Crimea was part of Ukraine, when they faced much greater problems, which began to be addressed only after the reunification with Russia.

"With such statements, Erdogan fuels confrontational sentiments among the Crimean Tatars, in fact, he does not want stability in Crimea, and we are concerned about this very much," he added.

Crimea's southern coast and eastern part were conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1475, while the steppe part of the peninsula was in the possession of the Crimean Khanate, a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman rule on the peninsula ended in 1774 after the Russian-Turkish war.