Türkiye prioritizes support to Crimean Tatars

Turkish parliamentary delegation attended a summit organized by the Crimea Platform in Stockholm, Sweden and reaffirmed Turkish support for the Crimean Tatar community.

Fuat Oktay, head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a lawmaker for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), led the delegation. Oktay said their number one priority in Crimea was the protection of the rights of Crimean Tatars.

Türkiye is a steadfast supporter of Crimea’s status and opposes its annexation by Russia, although Ankara maintains good ties with both Russia and Ukraine. Crimean Tatars, a Muslim community Indigenous to the Black Sea peninsula, had their lives disrupted after a referendum to annex Crimea to Russia in 2014. They faced heightened pressure due to their opposition to the annexation, with several prominent figures of the community arrested.

The Crimea Platform Parliamentary Summit held on Monday in Sweden is jointly sponsored by the Nordic country and Ukraine. The platform was launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2021.

Addressing the general assembly session of the summit, Oktay highlighted that their priority was the protection of the rights and interests of Crimea’s Indigenous Crimean Tatar Turks, preservation of their identity and reinforcing their political and social standing. He said that Türkiye would continue its support for the community while he underlined a fair and lasting peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, drawing attention to Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts to that extent. He also reiterated Türkiye’s support for Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and expressed Türkiye’s readiness to contribute to rebuilding Ukraine in the case of peace.

On the sidelines of the summit, Oktay met speakers of the Ukrainian and Swedish Parliaments, as well as Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. Oktay and Sena Nur Çelik Kanat, another lawmaker in the Turkish delegation, also held talks with a delegation led by Refat Chubarov, head of the Mejlis (Assembly) of the Crimean Tatar People, where he reiterated Türkiye’s support for the community. The Chubarov-led delegation briefed Oktay on the situation of the community and the challenges it faced.

In remarks on Monday, Oktay said Crimea’s problems dated back to the 18th century, after they lost their independence and faced several instances of oppression and were forced into exile by Russia. He said the Russian annexation revived the Tatars’ suffering. “We talked about this at the summit. We raise this issue at every platform,” he said.

Oktay noted that Türkiye demonstrated a solid reaction to Crimea’s illegal annexation but lamented that “our Western allies, European Union countries, the United States, failed to grasp how dire the issue was.” “They only reacted when Ukraine was invaded,” he said.

Also commenting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Oktay said Türkiye always advocated a peaceful solution, pointing out to the Istanbul talks they hosted. “A new round of peace negotiations should also be held in Istanbul,” he added.

AA