The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement on Sunday on the 11th anniversary of the annexation of Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea republic by Russia “through an illegitimate referendum.”
“We reiterate that Türkiye does not recognize the de facto situation in Crimea, which constitutes a violation of international law, and that we support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We will continue to closely monitor developments in Crimea, particularly the situation of the Crimean Tatar Turks, the Indigenous people of the peninsula, and we will keep them on the agenda of the international community,” the statement said.
Crimea became one of the casualties in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, especially after the ouster of pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 following pro-Western protests in Ukraine that eventually divided the country into two strict pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian camps. Subsequent protests by two sides found their way onto the peninsula. As a new pro-Western administration came to power, Russian military units in the Crimean peninsula saw active deployment across the cities in the peninsula. The Russian military’s actions were a violation of two deals between Russia and Ukraine signed in 1997 and 2010.
In February 2014, a pro-Russian mob stormed the parliament in Crimea, demanding independence from Ukraine through a referendum. Crimean Tatar National Assembly advocating integrity with Ukraine declared that it would stage a counter-rally against pro-Russian groups scheduled to hold a rally supporting the referendum. Large-scale rallies pitting two sides against each other took place on Feb. 26, 2014. More than 7,000 activists, mostly Crimean Tatars, joined the rally against the secession of Crimea. Two died in brawls during the confrontation, while the referendum was postponed over the incidents. One day later, pro-Russian paramilitary forces known as “little green men” for their distinctive uniforms not bearing any symbol or insignia started taking over public buildings and in a short time, managed to retain control of parliament. According to reports, these “green men” were Russian troops ditching their uniforms, though it was never confirmed. The parliament convened on March 6, 2014, while still under the control of “green men” and announced March 16 as the referendum date. In the following 10 days, “green men” launched a campaign of suppression targeting pro-Ukrainian groups and Crimean Tatars in particular. Crimean Tatars decided to boycott the referendum, which went ahead anyway. The referendum ended up with a result in favor of pro-Russian groups.
The U.N. General Assembly later voted to declare the action illegal. Along with an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states, Türkiye denied recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. Moscow, on the other hand, went ahead with the annexation, with President Vladimir Putin signing a decree five days after the referendum annexing Crimea to Russia and creating new federal regions.
Crimean Tatars, a Muslim community Indigenous to the Black Sea peninsula, saw their lives further disrupted after the referendum. Under the pretext of response to the Feb. 26 incidents, pro-Russian authorities turned up the pressure on Crimean Tatars, arresting their leaders. Crimean Tatar National Assembly was banned after it was branded as an extremist organization. Activists say more people died and suffered torture in the Russian prisons they were held in, while several activists were reportedly abducted by pro-Russian forces.
Crimea was a hot spot again in the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began on Feb. 24, 2022. The peninsula has been a launching pad for Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.
During the conflict, Russian forces, in addition to maintaining control over Donetsk and Luhansk, also captured the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Over the past year, however, Ukraine has launched attacks on strategically significant targets in Crimea using missiles and unmanned sea and aerial vehicles supplied by Western allies. Notably, Ukraine has used British-French long-range air-to-surface missiles known as "Storm Shadow" to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and its shipyard in Sevastopol, damaging several warships. Ukrainian amphibious units have also occasionally conducted raids at specific locations in Crimea. According to a statement by the Ukrainian military, Russia was forced to relocate its combat ships from the Black Sea Fleet to the port of Novorossiysk.
Similar to its actions in Crimea, Russia held referendums during the war in other occupied regions of Ukraine, seeking to integrate them into the Russian Federation. On Sept. 30, 2022, during a ceremony at the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin signed the annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions into Russia. Donetsk and Luhansk had already been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014. With this latest annexation, following Crimea, Russia effectively added another 15% of Ukraine’s territory to its own.
Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are strategically critical as they enable Russia to establish a land corridor between the Donbas region and Crimea.
Crimea has once again become a focal point of international attention in recent weeks. While negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war are ongoing, Washington has raised questions regarding Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that he would not concede any part of the country, including Crimea, although the U.S. administration claimed that returning to Ukraine’s 1991 borders was not feasible as part of any settlement to end the war. Russia maintains that the Crimea issue is nonnegotiable.
NATO member Türkiye has balanced ties with Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has maintained good ties with both, supporting Ukraine militarily and backing its territorial integrity while refusing to join sanctions on Russia. Most recently, it hosted Zelenskyy, who met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a staunch defender of Crimea’s status as part of Ukraine. Later, Türkiye also hosted talks between Russia and the U.S. as part of efforts to normalize ties between the two superpowers.
Türkiye traces its relations with Crimea to the 15th century when the Turkic Crimean Khanate accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Close relations continued for centuries, at least until the Russo-Turkish War of the 18th century. Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (Kuchuk-Kainarji), which marked the end of the war, also ended Crimea’s alignment with the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after the signing of the treaty, Russia annexed the peninsula.
