Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the Russian President, stated that Ankara’s position on the status of Crimea does not prevent Russia from cooperating with Turkey to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, “TASS” reports.

“Ankara has talked about its disagreement with us on this issue from the very beginning, but Crimea is part of the Russian Federation, so what Erdogan is talking about is impossible. However, this does not prevent us from communicating with Turkey where it is beneficial for us,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

He added that Moscow highly appreciates Ankara’s efforts to solve complex problems. “Therefore, where it is beneficial for us, we communicate, and we will communicate. We have a very good potential to deepen cooperation.”

In March 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea, as a result of which the peninsula became part of Russia, and Sevastopol became a city of federal importance.

Turkey does not recognize the results of the referendum. Earlier, the president of that country, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said in his video message to the participants of the summit of the Crimea platform in Kiev that the Crimean peninsula should be returned to Ukraine. The official representative of the President of Turkey, Ibrahim Kalin, stated that in case of any agreement between Moscow and Kiev, Crimea should be a part of Ukraine.