JUST IN: Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that according to international law, Crimea should be returned to Ukraine.
Ankara supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and rejects the illegal annexation of Crimea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
"The return of Crimea to Ukraine, of which it is an inseparable part, is essentially a requirement of international law," Erdogan said in a video message to the Second Crimea Platform Summit.
The Crimea Platform is an international coordination mechanism of Ukraine to draw more global attention to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Erdogan said Ankara will continue to support the Crimean Platform that was established to resolve the Crimean issue through peaceful means.
"Türkiye does not recognize the annexation of Crimea and has been openly stating since the first day that this step is illegitimate and illegal. This is a principled stance that has not only legal but also moral foundations," he said.
The president added that protecting Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and political unity is "critical" not only for regional but also for global security and stability.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/russia-ukraine ... t/2667680#