TURKEY'S ERDOGAN SAYS RUSSIA MUST RETURN CRIMEA TO UKRAINE.(PHOTO).

 Turkey's Erdogan Says Russia Must Return Crimea To Ukraine

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who in the past has been called a "dear friend" by Vladimir Putin, dealt a blow to the Russian leader when he advocated the return of annexed Crimea to Ukraine.

"Our support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence is unwavering," Erdoğan said in a video message to the Fourth Crimea Platform Leaders Summit on Wednesday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. "The return of Crimea to Ukraine is a requirement of international law."

Turkey, a NATO nation since 1952, has maintained cordial relations with Russia throughout Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, opposing Western sanctions placed on the country. At the same time, Ankara has sent Kyiv armed drones and condemned Russia's decision to invade its neighbor.

Erdogan said on September 11 that Russia must return Crimea to Ukraine. 

Erdoğan's remarks are likely to displease Putin, who annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and held referendums widely seen by the international community as illegal.

Kyiv has said that any peace deal with Russia in the ongoing war must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory—the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions—and that the Crimean Peninsula must once again be considered part of Ukraine.

Erdoğan said in his video address that Turkey has always been opposed to Russia's annexation of Crimea. He decried the persecution of Crimea's ethnic Tatars since 2014.

"I believe that additional steps will continue to be taken to strengthen the rights of the Crimean Tatar Turks in the upcoming period," he said.

Crimean Tatar Turks should be able to live "freely, securely, and peacefully in their own homeland."

Erdoğan added: "Our sincere wish is for the war to end with a fair and lasting peace based on Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence."

In October 2020, the Turkish leader said during a joint press briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his country would never recognize the annexation of Crimea.

"We have and always will support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over Crimea," he said. "Turkey sees Ukraine as a key country for ensuring stability, security, peace and prosperity in our region."

Putin has said that Ukraine must accept the annexation of Crimea as well as of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, should the war-torn country wish to begin peace talks.