TASS, September 26. Statements by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan regarding Crimea don’t ruin prospects for his successful upcoming visit to Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya-1 TV channel in reply to questions from TV host Vladimir Solovyov in the ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’ program.
"I would not excessively inflame the situation," Peskov noted. "After all, Turkey is our partner with which we have quite developed relations, and with which we also have persisting differences against the background of these developed relations," he said. "The position of Turkey, the position of Mr. Erdogan on Crimea is well known to us, and they were not hiding it, actually," he said.
He admitted these statements had left an unpleasant trace. "But nonetheless this by no means ruins the prospects of holding a successful, substantial and constructive working visit of President Erdogan to Moscow," he summed up.
"Erdogan considers Crimea as occupied," he noted. Peskov also specified that having worked in Turkey for many years, he knew a lot of Turkish people, "who are fierce nationalists, who consider Crimea of course Turkish, who see it as a Turkish domain" since the times of the Ottoman Empire.
"But thank God, these nationalists are not in power. And thank God, Mr. President of Turkey does not share their point of view," Peskov noted.
Talks of the Russian and Turkish presidents
Terrorist activity in Syria’s Idlib constitutes a major threat, and the issue will be in the focus at talks of the Russian and Turkish presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peskov said.
"Regretfully, terrorist activity continues from these territories. This is unacceptable, this is dangerous, this interferes with the settlement process in Syria. All this will certainly be on the agenda [of the talks]," Peskov added.