The head of the regional national-cultural autonomy of Crimean Tatars Eyvaz Umerov appealed to the Turkish authorities to recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation.
Earlier, Turkish university professor Maltepe Hasan Unal told Lenta.ru that Russia and Turkey would be able to agree on the status of Crimea if Moscow recognizes the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent state. For his part, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the country's regions could not be the subject of any deals.
"If Turkish leadership wants to be consistent, and support for the Crimean Tatars is not political PR, the peninsula must be recognized as part of the Russian Federation. We are at home, and this is our choice," Umerov told RIA Novosti.
At the same time, he said, Russia is not forcing or asking anyone to recognize Crimea as Russian.
"De facto and de jure the peninsula is part of the Russian Federation with 96 percent support of the population. The recognition of Crimea as Russian is necessary first and foremost for partner countries that want to build constructive relations with our country. If Turkey is ready to discuss recognition and put the Turkish Republic of Cyprus up for auction, it is their business, our country has no need to run after anyone," Umerov said.
Cyprus has been de facto divided between the Greek and Turkish communities since 1974. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed in the north of the island, not recognized by the international community. Only the Republic of Cyprus, which de facto controls the south of the island, remains internationally recognized. The Greek and Turkish communities of the island have been negotiating the political reunification of Cyprus for many years, but have not yet succeeded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti