Jemilev: We explained to Erdogan how much Tomos matters to Crimean Tatars

Mustafa Jemilev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Tomos is very important for the Crimean Tatars. This was stated Mustafa Jemilev in an interview with the BBC.

According to him, he talked with Turkish President Erdogan on this topic and consistently explained how important it is for Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars that Ukraine has an independent Local Orthodox Church.

"I explained to Erdogan in the following layman’s terms: now Moscow is said to be the Mecca for Orthodox Christians but after the granting of the Tomos and autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church it will be Istanbul, so it is of political significance to you as well," Jemilev said.

The leader of the Crimean Tatars noted that at first Erdogan was surprised why a Muslim cares about the issue of Orthodoxy.

"I replied this is very important for the independence of our country and therefore, for the Crimean Tatars. He replied, "I understand you." We had very intensive work in this direction. And now I'm watching with such joy and pleasure the Kremlin seething with rage due to the fact Ukraine will get the Tomos," said Jemilev.

Earlier, journalist Dmitry Gordon said that the process of preparing the Tomos on autocephaly for Ukraine is lobbied by Recep Erdogan.

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