The Kremlin regrets that Turkey did not recognize the results of the elections to the State Duma in Crimea and hopes that the republic’s position on the peninsula will change. Press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov announced this to journalists on Tuesday. TASS News Agency informed.

“We do not accept such statements [about non-recognition of the election results in Crimea] and we openly talk about this to our Turkish colleagues,” Peskov said. “The topic of Crimea is a topic on which our positions are diametrically divergent. We regret this position of Turkey, but we hope that over time, Turkey will show political will and will change its position, simply paying tribute to the truth and the real state of affairs.”

The Kremlin spokesman added that Turkey is a partner of Russia and “the existence of significant issues on which there are disagreements is not and should not be an obstacle to the development of the entire range of bilateral relations and interaction on a number of regional issues.”

Peskov stressed that “interaction should continue, and it is in the interests of the Russian side, first of all, and also in the interests of the Turkish side.” “As for the points of disagreement, on these points we will continue to work with the Turkish side, explaining our position and hoping that sooner or later we will be able to bring our positions closer,” the Kremlin spokesman concluded.