OREANDA-NEWS Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, pointing out that Ankara does not recognize Crimea as part of Russia. He stated this in a video message to the summit of the leaders of the Crimean Platform, Anadolu agency reports.

"Our support for its independence [of Ukraine] is constant, including Crimea," the politician said.

He also added that such demands allegedly "comply with the norms of international law." In addition, Erdogan added that Turkey supports Ukraine's measures against the Crimean Tatars.

On September 19 last year, Erdogan said that Russia would never leave Crimea. He stressed that he came to this conclusion after a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.