Turkish foreign ministry issues statement on anniversaries of deportations of Crimean Tatars and Circassians

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement marking the 82nd anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars and the 162nd anniversary of the deportation of the Circassians.

"82 years ago, on May 18, the Crimean Tatar people were forcibly expelled from their homeland and sent into exile. During the 1944 deportation, hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars were sent to labor camps in various countries, and many of them died due to the harsh conditions they faced. Our compatriots were unable to return to their historical homeland, the Crimean Peninsula, for many years," the statement said.

"The suffering of the Crimean Tatars, who are the indigenous people of Crimea, has intensified further following the illegal annexation of the peninsula," it noted.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry emphasized that Ankara "will continue to support the preservation of the national identity, language, and culture of the Crimean Tatars, as well as ensuring their security and well-being."

The document also notes that the deportation of the Circassians, which took place 162 years ago on May 21, remains in memory as a great humanitarian tragedy that forced the peoples of the Caucasus to leave their homeland under extremely difficult conditions and brought enormous losses and deep suffering to the Caucasus.

"We share the pain of the Crimean Tatars and the brotherly peoples of the Caucasus, and we honor the memory of the deceased with respect and sorrow," the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement noted.