Turkey “rejectthe annexation of new Ukrainian territories by Russia, as it refused to recognize the annexation of Crimea, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. “Turkey did not recognize the annexation of Crimea in an illegitimate referendum in 2014 and has always expressed its strong support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty“, insists the ministry in a press release published in the night, after the celebration with great fanfare in Moscow of the annexations.
“In accordance with this position, adopted since 2014, we reject the Russian decision to annex the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. This decision, which constitutes a serious violation of the principles of international law, cannot be accepted“. The Turkish ministry had already condemned the referendums last week “illegitimateconducted in these four regions.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has not spoken directly on the subject, has been trying since the beginning of the conflict to maintain relations with kyiv and with Moscow and has offered his meditation to open talks between Russia and Ukraine. , to which Ankara supplies combat drones. But after having met his counterpart Vladimir Putin on several occasions and made agreements, in particular on gas deliveries, partly payable in rubles, he now seems to be taking his distance more clearly, calling on the UN platform for a “dignified exit for all” of the war.
Under US pressure and fear of reprisals, Turkish banks that accepted it this week gradually withdrew from the Russian Mir payment system which allowed Russian nationals to continue to withdraw money in Turkey.