OREANDA-NEWS. Russian regions, including Crimea, will never be a topic for deals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the Turkish professor's idea of ​​recognizing Crimea in exchange for recognizing Northern Cyprus. This was reported by TASS on Tuesday, July 27.

“Of course, the Russian regions can never be and will not be the subject of any transactions, this is out of the question,” he said.

So Peskov answered the question of journalists whether the Kremlin considers it appropriate to recognize the independence of Northern Cyprus in exchange for Turkey's recognition of the Russian status of Crimea.

The presidential spokesman added that the professor is unlikely to represent the official point of view of Ankara.

In an interview with Lente.ru, a professor at the Turkish Maltepe University from Istanbul Hasan Unal said that Turkey and Russia could conclude a deal on Crimea in exchange for Moscow's recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as an independent state. According to him, a united Cyprus can become a NATO member, which is contrary to the interests of Russia.

According to RIA Novosti, Doctor of Political Sciences, Head of the Department of Political Science of Sevastopol State University (SevSU) Alexander Irkhin, the conclusion of a deal between Russia and Turkey to exchange recognition of Crimea and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is impossible, since it contradicts the ideological direction of Turkey's modern foreign policy. He said that "in the near future, the Turkish elite, regardless of party affiliation, will not be able to afford any change in their position on Crimea."

Crimea for modern Turkey is a space of expansion, both from the point of view of the protector of all Muslims, whose role was voiced by Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey), and from the point of view of protecting the rights of the Crimean Turks (Crimean Tatars), the political scientist noted.