The Kremlin deplores that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on Crimea are heard at a time when preparations are underway for the Turkish leader's visit to Russia, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
Asked who the Russian Federation considers the addressee of Erdogan's words, the Kremlin spokesman pointed out: "Of course, we consider ourselves to be the addressee. This is how we perceive it."
"We, of course, deplore that such statements are heard now, when the working visit of Mr. Turkish president [Erdogan] to the Russian Federation is being prepared. Still, we would prefer to focus on the subject of further development of our bilateral relations and interaction in addressing the very hot regional challenges that stand between our countries," Peskov said.
Erdogan, speaking Tuesday at a general political debate at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, said that Turkey considers it "important to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including the territory of Crimea, whose annexation" Ankara does not recognize.
Peskov said Turkey's position on Crimea is well known to Russia. "We categorically disagree with it and will continue to work with the Turkish side," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Earlier, the Turkish presidential office said Erdogan's visit to Russia for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected on September 29. He is scheduled to travel to Sochi. The last face-to-face meeting of the leaders took place in March 2020 in the Kremlin, when Erdogan also paid a working visit to Russia. Because of the pandemic situation, subsequent talks were held by telephone or video-conferencing, both bilaterally and multilaterally.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials TASS