Russia slams Istanbul meet over Caucasus

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Russian President Medvedev (R) is seen with Turkish PM Erdogan in this March 2012 photo. Russia criticizes Caucasus summit organized by the Istanbul Municipality. AA photo

A conference on the state of affairs in the Caucasus held by the Istanbul Municipality has drawn a reaction from Russia, which argued that statements by some participants called for terrorist attacks.

“This kind of hospitality toward those who openly support terrorist activities in Russian territories is casting a shadow on the positive climate of the Russian-Turkish relationship, and is not befitting the level of partnership that our countries have reached,” a written statement issued by the Russian Embassy in Ankara said. The embassy’s statement referred to two separate conferences, organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Fatih Municipality respectively last week, in which current developments in the Caucasus were discussed with very harsh language regarding Moscow.

Noting that Turkey, like Russia, suffers from problems related to terrorism, the embassy expressed its unhappiness at seeing Ankara’s tolerance toward these kinds of activities.

The fact that some unidentified officials sent welcoming messages to the conferences, the embassy said, increased the disturbance the events caused in Russia.