Ankara refuses to recognize Russian elections in Crimea

The Foreign Ministry said Friday that it does not recognize the results of Russia's parliamentary elections recently held in Crimea. "The results of the elections in Crimea are not legitimate for us," spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said in a statement, adding Turkey would continue to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine including Crimea. Elections to the State Duma, Russia's 450-seat lower house of parliament, took place on Sept. 18. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in March 2014 following a contested referendum. Since then, the region's Tatar community has regularly denounced increasing repression including arbitrary arrests and detentions.