Turkey says cooperation with Russia to continue by contributing to region

ANKARA

Turkey believes that its cooperation with Russia will continue in a way that will contribute to the peace and stability of the region, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on March 16 on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the “Friendship and Fraternity Treaty,” signed between the government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

“Turkey and the Russian Federation continue their dialogue and cooperation at the bilateral and regional levels today. We believe that this understanding of cooperation will continue in a way that will contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity besides our bilateral relations,” the written statement said.

The “Friendship and Fraternity Treaty” document, referred to as the “Moscow Treaty” in our common history, has an important place in Turkish-Russian relations, it added.

The treaty, which was signed one year after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, not only carries political significance under the circumstances of the period but has also produced legal consequences that remain valid to this day, the ministry said.

“Being the first treaty signed between the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the “Moscow Treaty,” while defining the eastern borders of our young republic, has also served as a basis for the solidarity and cooperation with Soviet Russia in the period after the First World War,” the statement said.

‘Turkey does not recognize annexation of Crimea by Russia’

Meanwhile, Turkey does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ankara reiterated in a written statement on the seventh anniversary of the “illegal annexation of Crimea.”

“Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation, based on an illegitimate referendum held seven years ago as of today,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on March 16.

“We reiterate that we do not recognize the de-facto situation in the peninsula, which constitutes a breach of international law, and confirm our support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” it added.

On this occasion, Turkey underlined “one more time the importance we attach to the safety, well-being and the protection of the cultural identity of the Crimean Tatar Turks, who are among the constituent people of Crimea.”

Turkey will continue to closely monitor the developments in Crimea, the ministry said.