SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) – Ablaev met with President of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez on Wednesday.
"The spiritual leaders discussed a range of issues concerning the development of ties between the Muslims of Crimea and Turkey," Ablaev’s press service said after the meeting, adding that the prospects of future joint projects and the construction of religious sites was also discussed.
The two sides are also considering expanding religious education in Crimea by having Turkish religious figures educate Crimean Muslims.
Crimea reunified with Russia after over 96 percent of the local population supported the move in a 2014 referendum following the coup in Kiev that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovich. Kiev, as well as the West, did not recognize the move and considers the peninsula an occupied territory.
However, over 60 delegations from dozens of countries have visited Russia’s southwestern Crimea region this year, defying Western restrictions, including those from France, Italy, Jordan and many other nations.
