The Turkish professor suggested that Russia and Turkey “exchange” the confessions of Northern Cyprus and the Crimea. The Kremlin believes that such a deal is unacceptable
Russian regions cannot be the subject of transactions, said the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov, the correspondent of RBC reports.
The fact that Turkey and Russia can conclude a deal on the Crimea in exchange for Moscow’s recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent state, professor of the Turkish University Maltepe (Istanbul)said earlier in an interview with Lenta.gizay Hasan Unal.
“Firstly, it is unlikely that a respected professor from Turkey can embody the official point of view of Ankara. And secondly, the Russian regions cannot be the subject of transactions, this is excluded, ” Peskov said.
In an interview with Lenta, he stated that ” Russia should lead the movement to recognize the republic of [Northern Cyprus].” “After all, a united Cyprus can become a member of NATO, and this is not at all in the interests of Russia. As soon as it does this, Turkish airlines will be able to resume direct flights to Crimea, and the Turkish authorities will abandon the narrative that Crimea is part of Ukraine. But this will happen gradually, of course, ” he believes.
Now Turkey is the only country that recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which occupies about half of the island and appeared as a result of the invasion of Turkish troops in 1974. Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus are separated from each other by a demarcation line with several checkpoints. After the fighting of the 1970s, some of the territories adjacent to the line remain closed to the public. Negotiations between the two countries on unification have been going on for decades, but they have not led to success, while the Republic of Cyprus has already managed to join the European Union.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Northern Cyprus in November 2020, including the recently opened Varosha quarter in the city of Famagusta, located near the demarcation line and remaining a disputed territory. Soon after, the European Parliament accused Ankara of provocation and demanded that the EU leadership impose sanctions against Turkey.
Crimea is in a similar situation, since its entry into Russia, which occurred following the events of 2014 and the referendum, is not recognized at the international level. Turkey has repeatedly stated that it stands on the side of Ukraine on the Crimean issue. Turkish President Erdogan has repeatedly stated his readiness to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine. For example, on April 10, following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, he said that Turkey “once again confirmed”…”a principled decision not to recognize the annexation of the Crimea.”
In addition, Ankara is making efforts to support the Crimean Tatars, including those who oppose the annexation of Crimea to Russia. In 2017, Turkey acted as an intermediary in the transfer of activists of the organization “Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People” to Ukraine (banned in Russia) Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov, who were convicted in Russia for calling for violation of territorial integrity and organizing riots. Russia handed over both of them to Turkey, from where they went to Kiev.
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