Turkey refuses to recognize Crimea referendum
Turkey said on Monday that it does not recognize the result of the referendum in Crimea in which voters chose to join Russia, amid fears for the future of Turkish-speaking Tatars in the region, Hürriyet Daily News reported.
"This referendum is not recognized, and has no legitimacy," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told a news conference in Ankara, standing alongside Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Kırımoğlu.
"We did not and will not accept the referendum," Kırımoğlu said. "The future of Crimean Tatars rests with the state of Ukraine."
Davutoğlu said the referendum "violates Ukraine's territorial integrity."
"I hope this referendum, which is unacceptable, will not lead to new tensions," he said, calling on all concerned parties to act with "common sense" and avoid "military manoeuvres.”