Turkey " follow closely " the development of the Ukrainian crisis amid concerns about the fate of the Tatar minority of speakers of Turkish in the Crimea , said a government source told AFP on Monday.
" We have a great obligation to remember the Tatars and we are in dialogue with relevant parties so that this dispute does not turn into an armed conflict . We can not remain a spectator to what is happening there , " said a source from the Turkish Government .
Tatar community members staged a rally in Ankara , Istanbul and the city center, Konya , over the weekend to protest Russian intervention in Ukraine .
" Not in Russia - Crimea Ukraine must stick together ! " write a board that brought protesters outside the Russian Embassy in Ankara on Sunday .
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday a visit Kiev and has met with representatives of the United States , France , Germany , and Poland over the phone .
He also hopes to meet with his Russian counterpart , Sergei Lavrov , as soon as possible, his spokesman said .
Davutoglu is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Tatar community in Ukraine on Sunday .
" Turkey will do everything possible to ensure the stability of the Crimea in the heart of Ukraine , " he said in an interview on Sunday . " Human rights of the Tatars and their existence should be guaranteed . "
Turkey said 12 percent of the population of Crimean Tatars are Turkic speaking community and Sunni Muslims , as the majority of the Turkish people .
Crimea was part of the Ottoman Empire ruled Russia until the late 18th century . Tatar People - when the majority of the population - have been gradually pushed out since then .
Turkey has been keeping culture strong network with the Tatar community in Ukraine , to fund development projects including housing , roads , and schools in Crimea through program -based aid in the Crimean capital , Simferopol .
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