Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed the continuation of the Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in freeing Ukrainian political prisoners in the occupied Crimea and on the territory of the Russian Federation with the involvement of leaders of the Crimean Tatar people into this process.
Erdogan received the Ukrainian delegation led by Klimkin, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian foreign minister noted that the issues of ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens who are subjected to pressure and repression in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine by the aggressor state are at the center of Ukraine’s heightened attention.
“The minister stressed the need to continue the Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in the matters of the release of Ukrainian political prisoners held in the occupied Crimea and on the territory of the Russian Federation, including involving the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people in this process,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The meeting participants praised the development of Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation, in particular, deepening cooperation in trade, economic and social sectors.
The meeting with Erdogan was also attended by representative of the Ukrainian president for Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Jemilev, First Deputy Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova, Ukrainian MP Maria Ionova of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, as well as deputy chairmen of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz, who were released from the Russian captivity thanks to the efforts of the Turkish side.
