Ukraine's provocations, which continue to this day, prove that the Crimeans' choice in the 2014 referendum was correct, said Crimean head Sergey Aksyonov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday at his annual press conference that Russia could not look calmly at the bloody coup d'etat in Ukraine and not take the population of Crimea under protection.
"The president once again reiterated that Russia could not but take the people of Crimea and Sevastopol under protection in 2014. This is an absolutely obvious fact, which the West stubbornly refuses to notice. We remember perfectly well how the situation on the peninsula escalated on the eve and after the coup d'état in Kiev. We remember the threats against Crimean residents that came from Kiev. Ukraine's constant provocations, which continue to this day, and attempts to commit terrorist acts on our territory - all this proves again and again that the people of Crimea made the right choice," Aksyonov wrote in his Telegram channel.
The head of the republic noted that in Crimea they are grateful to the President for the fact that he supported the choice of the Crimeans and saved the peninsula from war.
After the coup d'état in Ukraine in February 2014, the Crimean and Sevastopol authorities held a referendum on reunification with Russia. More than 80% of those eligible to vote participated, with 96.7% and 95.6% voting in favor of reunification with Russia, respectively. On March 18, 2014, President Putin signed the treaty accepting the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation, and it was ratified by the Federal Assembly on March 21. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS