Turkey also a loser in Crimea
No matter how hard Turkey tries to be the guardian of Crimean Tatars, there isn’t much it can do after the Crimean vote to join Russia.
Who lost in Crimea? If there is a country to be added to Ukraine, it's Turkey.
The referendum decision of Crimea to return to the Russian fold, after Turkey lost it to the Russian Empire with the 1774 Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarcam, has spoiled Turkey’s strategic ambitions for the region. What kind of ambitions? Nothing to do with recovering Crimea geographically, but to bring back to life cultural and historical heritage of the Crimean Tatar Khanate.
Even the burial of writer Cengiz Dagci, who died in London in 2011, back home in Crimea was a mission of strategic significance for Turkey. The Cooperation and Coordination Agency of Turkey (TIKA), by restoring the historic relics of Zincirli Madrassa and Haci Gray Inn and by renovating Kirim Tatar National School, tried to make the legacy of the Muslim Tatars more visible. In an action plan Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had prepared in 2002 while he was the chief adviser to the prime minister, Ukraine was among the countries to develop strategic relations with, alongside South Korea, Brazil and South Africa. Ankara tried to develop its ties to Crimea with the consent of Ukrainians. This policy did not change during the reign of the toppled leader Viktor Yanukovich.
Territorial integrity: a boomerang
