The Turkish party Vatan ("Motherland") presented the Black sea-Mediterranean plan of friendship and peace, which includes the recognition of Crimea as Russian, in an online format.
Other points of the plan include the elimination of US and NATO bases in the region, recognition of the Republic of Abkhazia and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, ensuring peace in Syria and its territorial integrity, and ending US intervention in Libya.
Lemara Selendili, Chair of the Education, Science and Youth policy Committee of the Council of Crimean Tatars under the head of the Republic of Crimea, spoke about significant changes for the better in the situation of Crimean Tatars after the reunification of Crimea with Russia.
"The Crimean Tatar language has become official. We have received the rights of other Turkic peoples in Russia. For almost 25 years, we have lived in poor conditions, with electricity and water constantly cut off, roads broken, and schools not built. Over the past five years, these problems have begun to be resolved. The economic situation of the Crimean Tatars has started to improve, " she said.
Kurshad Ornek, an analyst at the Sahipkiran center for strategic studies, who spoke at the meeting, called on the Turkish Foreign Ministry to immediately establish relations with Crimea and, by agreement with Russia, become a guarantor of the rights of the Crimean Tatars.
"I have a Crimean origin, I studied in Crimea for six years, completed postgraduate and master's programs in Russian Philology. Crimea, in fact, has never been Ukrainian land, for six years I met some people there who speak Ukrainian. Are our schools and mosques now open in Crimea? Open. But our deputies and Ministers are not yet involved in Crimean politics. We have to fix this, " Ornek said.
Semih Koray, head of the International Relations Bureau of the Vatan party, noted that the main goal of the Black sea-Mediterranean peace and friendship plan is to leave the United States alone in the region and implement a comprehensive strategy based on Eurasian cooperation and the West Asian Union. "The most important feature of the Black sea-Mediterranean plan for friendship and peace is its integrity. This plan is based on strengthening the axis of cooperation between Turkey and Russia," he added.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which 96.77% of the voters of the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% of the residents of Sevastopol supported joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its own, but temporarily occupied territory. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the residents of Crimea have voted for reunification with Russia in a democratic way, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is "finally closed".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti