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Crimean Tatars denied right to participate in OSCE civil forum

Regional security in Crimea was a subject of heated debates at the forum which the Crimean Tatar delegation had to miss due to some misunderstanding, Vasvi Abduraimov said

BASEL (Switzerland), December 4. /TASS/. A delegation of Crimean Tatars has been unable to attend an OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) civil forum allegedly due to bureaucratic formalities, Vasvi Abduraimov, the head of Crimea’s public organization Milli Firka, told journalists.

“We have certain thoughts of how to approach the solution of issues related to Crimea. Crimea’s reunification with Russia is one thing, but a long way of Crimea’s full and comprehensive integration into Russia — political, economic and humanitarian — lies ahead,” Abduraimov explained.

He said that regional security in Crimea was a subject of heated debates at the forum which the Crimean Tatar delegation had to miss due to some misunderstanding.

“Its organizers referred to bureaucratic formalities. But we had what to say on Crimean security, especially in the light of the inadequate information which is being circulated by some media outlets,” Abduraimov said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts were opening up new prospects for strengthening security in the Black Sea region.

“We closely watched the meeting of our President Vladimir Putin with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because Turkey is our neighbor, which is close to us in language and culture. It was important for us to know Turkey’s attitude to the problem of Crimean Tatars. We heard that Erdogan had voiced support for Russia’s efforts on Crimea and Crimean Tatars,” Abduraimov went on to say.

The representatives of Crimean Tatars noted considerable improvement in the position of their community and people after Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

“We tried to solve our problems during all those years when we were part of Ukraine. But the Ukrainian government did not make a single step in that direction over the past 23 years. On the contrary, it tried to create an atmosphere of conflict in order to be able to run the region against that background. Today, Russia has created all conditions for the solution of problems of Crimean Tatars on the basis of law and the Russian Constitution,” Abduraimov concluded.