Russian elections in Crimea have no ‘legal validity’ for Turkey

ANKARA

The results of the parliamentary elections held in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, do not have legal validity for Turkey, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sept. 20.

Turkey maintains its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and does not recognize the unlawful annexation of Crimea, Tanju Bilgiç said in a statement. In this context, Bilgiç stated that the State Duma elections held in Crimea on Sept. 17-19 have “no legal validity for Turkey.”

The Ukrainian administration also objects to Russia’s elections in Crimea on the ground that it violates international law.

Russian forces entered the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 and annexed the region formally in March 2014 – a move that Turkey, the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. and the EU, all view as illegal. Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian Separatists in Donbas, eastern Ukraine has seen more than 13,000 people killed since 2014, according to the U.N.