Statements about the oppression of Crimean Tatars and the "atmosphere of terror" in Crimea are fiction, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.
"We drew attention to the statement of Germany's permanent representative to the UN (Christoph Heusgen - TASS) about some concern of Berlin about the fate of the Crimean Tatars subjected to oppression. Well, what can I say? This is a fiction that was suggested by the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (an extremist association banned in Russia - TASS) about some kind of atmosphere of terror created by the "occupation authorities," Zakharova said.
She also called the reports about abductions, searches and arrests of Crimean Tatars fakes. "All of this is absolutely baseless and not confirmed by concrete facts," Zakharova concluded.
After the coup in Kiev in February 2014, the authorities of Crimea and Sevastopol decided to hold a referendum on reunification with Russia. More than 80% of eligible voters participated in the vote, which took place on March 16 of that year. 96.7% and 95.6% of residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, respectively, voted in favor of reunification with Russia. On March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the agreement on the admission of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, and on March 21, the document was ratified by the Federal Assembly. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS
Based on materials from TASS