MFA: Turkiye will always stand by Crimean Tatars

Turkiye will always stand by the Crimean Tatars to protect the identity of our compatriots and ensure their well-being and peace, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Tanju Bilgic said on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars, Report informs.

He stressed that the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, were forcibly expelled from their homeland on May 18, 1944, and sent into exile in inhumane conditions: "Most of the 250,000 Crimean Tatars have died in exile. Today we commemorate the 78th anniversary of this tragic event.

"May 21 is marked as the 158th anniversary of the Circassian exile. During the invasion of the Caucasus by Tsarist Russia in the 19th century, the peoples of the Caucasus suffered hundreds of thousands of losses, and many of the survivors fled their homeland and took refuge in Anatolia. We still feel the pain of this tragedy called Circassian exile.

"In this regard, we respectfully bow to those who lost their lives in both tragedies of both the Crimean Tatars and the fraternal peoples of the Caucasus."