By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the forced exile of Ahiska Turks from Georgia, the Turkish foreign minister on Thursday reaffirmed Ankara’s ongoing support for the community worldwide.
"We strongly support the successful completion of the journey for Ahiska Turks to return to their homeland," Hakan Fidan said on X, expressing condolences to those who lost their lives during the exile and voicing empathy for those forcibly displaced.
"On Nov. 14, 1944, approximately a hundred thousand of our Ahiska Turks brothers and sisters were exiled from their homeland in Georgia's Ahiska region, where they had lived for centuries," he noted.
The minister said that Türkiye is implementing various initiatives to assist the ethnic Turkish people both domestically and abroad.
Fidan also said that Ankara is "continuously monitoring the situation of the Ahiska Turks, especially through the Council of Europe, on international platforms, and in our engagements with Georgian authorities."
To support Ahiska families still residing in Georgia, Türkiye has launched projects aimed at economic stability and offers scholarships to Ahiska youth, he added.
"Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, we have not left Ahiska Turks in difficult circumstances. We have helped them safely reach Türkiye," Fidan remarked.
He pledged to support the community of over 500,000 Ahiska Turks worldwide.
"We will continue to provide every possible support to help the Ahiska Turks… to preserve their unity and identity and pass it on to future generations,” he stressed.
Ahiska Turks, also known as Meskhetian Turks, were expelled from the Meskheti region of Georgia by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1944.
They also faced discrimination and human rights abuses before and after the Soviet deportation.