Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti and Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman that an unofficial Turkish delegation will head to Crimea soon to investigate if any human rights violations had taken place on the peninsula.
The world's only Crimean Tatar TV channel is now off-air after Russia's broadcast regulator refused to renew the channel's licence. "We are deeply concerned about this situation," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said when discussing the issue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "We have formed a delegation to examine the human rights situation on the peninsula. We hope that we will resolve this issue with our friends from Russia soon," TASS cited him.
The ATR Channel - the only Crimean Tatar channel in the world - was forced off air after Russia refused to re-register the channel on March 31.
"Turkey will continue to be a close follower of our Crimean Tatar kinsmen's prosperity and continue to pursue developments in the region," a statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
