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Political Scientist, President of the Center “Institute for the Middle East” Yevgeny Satanovsky explained to the Telegram channel “Radiotochka NSN” why Turkish President Recep Erdogan continues to publicly deny the territorial affiliation of Crimea to Russia.
Recall that Erdogan had previously said that the peninsula had been “annexed” and that Ankara intended to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity. After these words, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his Turkish colleague.
Satanovsky stressed that there is a paradox in this situation – Erdogan personally has a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin, but the Turkish leader still believes that the Crimea belongs to the Turkey. This is despite the fact that Russia has conquered Crimea and other territories in more than a dozen wars with the Ottoman Empire. “But this does not mean that the collapse of the USSR would not be perceived in Turkey as a historical opportunity,” the political scientist explained.
Recall that this is not the first time that Erdogan talks about Ukrainian ownership of the Crimea. A number of Turkish politicians have also drawn attention to the situation with the Crimean Tatars on the peninsula, which they consider to be a related nation of the Turks.