Turkish Delegation With Members of Crimean Tatar Diaspora to Visit Crimea in May

According to the head of the Crimean committee on inter-ethnic relations, a Turkish delegation consisting of members of Crimean Tatar diaspora, among others, will visit Crimea in May.

SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) – A Turkish delegation consisting of members of Crimean Tatar diaspora, among others, will visit Crimea in May, the head of the Crimean committee on inter-ethnic relations, Zaur Smirnov, told Sputnik on Saturday.

"We have received an official confirmation of the visit of the Turkish delegation, which will include about ten representatives of the Crimean-Tatar diaspora living in Turkey," Smirnov said.

He added that the delegation would be headed by Unver Sel, the head of the Federation of Crimean Tatar Communities of Turkey.

The visit will be dedicated to the memory of Crimean Tatars who were forcefully deported by the Soviet authorities to Central Asia during WWII.

After Crimea decided in a referendum to secede from Ukraine and reunify with Russia in March 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree rehabilitating ethnic minorities that suffered under the rule of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, including Crimean Tatars.

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