The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine has requested official explanations from the Turkish side regarding the status of a visit of representatives of the Russian occupation administration in Yalta to Türkiye, MFA spokesman Oleh Nikolenko has said.

"We received information about the visit of representatives of the Russian occupation administration in Yalta to Türkiye... the Russian occupiers took part in a meeting of the International Organization of United Cities and Local Authorities, and also discussed the possibility of concluding an agreement on establishing sister-city relations with the Beylikdüzü municipal district of Istanbul. We perceive this situation with extreme seriousness," Nikolenko was quoted as saying in a Foreign Ministry commentary on Wednesday.

"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has already requested official explanations from the Turkish side regarding the status of the visit of representatives of the Russian occupation administration," Nikolenko said.

As the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry notes, "in accordance with the norms of international law, the Crimean peninsula is part of the territory of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by Russia. Resolutions of the UN General Assembly require any parties to refrain from actions that may call into question the status of Crimea, in particular through contacts with occupation administrations."

"We expect that the Turkish authorities, which support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, will properly respond to the Russian provocation and will not allow its repetition in the future," the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry concluded.