OREANDA-NEWS. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in his statements on Crimea, went to the limit of impudence, condemning Russia and at the same time demanding that the occupation of Cyprus be recognized as legal. This opinion was expressed to RIA Novosti by a former member of the European Parliament, leader of the party "Greece - Another Way" Notis Marias.

He is a professor at the University of Crete, where he teaches the institutional setting of the European Union.

Erdogan said, speaking at the UN General Assembly, the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the territory of the "annexed" Crimea. The Turkish President said that he does not recognize the results of the elections in Crimea. Erdogan also noted the need to make more efforts to protect the rights of the Crimean Tatars. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that the Russian Federation is doing everything that meets international law, the UN Charter, respects the right of any people to determine its own destiny, this applies to the rights of national minorities, whether in Crimea or anywhere else.

The Kremlin later said that it regretted the new statement of the Turkish president on the eve of the summit in Sochi, and consider themselves to be the addressee of these words.

“The insolence of Tayyip Erdogan reached a limit up in connection with his speech at the UN General Assembly. Ukraine, he at the same time demanded the legalization of the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus, demanding the recognition of the occupying leader (the leader of the Turkish Cypriots Ersin) Tatar, "the politician said.

"Thus, Turkey, which illegally invaded Cyprus in 1974 and occupied 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus for 47 years, is trying in every possible way to legitimize the violation of international law in Cyprus and the violation of the territorial integrity of the island," Marias said.

According to him, at the same time, Erdogan, in order to win the favor of US President Joe Biden, supports the United States' Cold War policy against Russia through Ukraine and Crimea.

"It's time for Russia to realize that, despite its economic and military cooperation with Turkey, Ankara has never ceased to be the vanguard of NATO forces against Russia," the politician said.