SIMFEROPOL, June 18. /TASS/. Crimea’s head Sergei Aksyonov has invited the Europeans to visit the Peninsula in response to the European Union’s decision to extend sanctions against the region.
"For our part, we are totally open for cooperation and are always glad to meet guests," Aksyonov wrote on Facebook. "In Russia, people say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So come to Crimea and don’t believe myths about the so-called annexation created by Crimea-haters," he added.
According to Crimea’s head, people living on the peninsula "think of sanctions only when the media start speaking about them." "The EU’s recent decision, as well as all the previous ones, will not in any way affect the social and economic development of our region. All the construction projects on the peninsula - starting from the Crimean Bridge to new kindergartens and health centers - are being implemented under sanctions," Aksyonov pointed out.
Sevastopol Governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov, in turn, said that the extension of sanctions would not damage the city’s economy. "We are confident that we will succeed in fulfilling economic development tasks," the governor’s press service quoted him as saying.
Crimea’s head added that despite sanctions, the regional authorities had hosted a lot of international events and welcomed representatives of almost half of the world’s countries. "Guests from 71 countries participated in the Fourth Yalta International Economic Forum held in April this year. Prominent politicians and public figures from the European countries point to the Crimeans’ legitimate right to self-determination and the need to recognize Crimea as an integral part of Russia. I am sure that these processes will gain momentum," Aksyonov said.
According to him, "sanctions policy is immoral and insulting to the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol." "It violates fundamental human rights, undermines the foundations of democracy and tarnishes the European Union’s global image," he noted.
Sanctions against Crimea
The European Union’s Crimea-related sanctions include a ban on importing Crimean goods, making investments in Crimea, including real estate purchases, financing businesses, providing services, particularly in the tourism industry. European vessels are banned from entering Crimean ports, while European aircraft are prohibited from landing at Crimea’s airports, except for emergency reasons.
Sanctions also put a ban on exporting goods and technologies related to the transport, telecommunications and energy industries, as well as to oil and natural resources production. Europeans are also barred from providing technical services to companies active in these sectors.
The EU’s sanctions policy against Russia includes three independent tracks: visa restrictions against Russian citizens, economic sanctions against a number of Russian state oil, defense and financial companies and also restrictions against Crimea. All these sanctions were introduced in 2014. Two first two sanctions packages are extended every six months, while the restrictions against Crimea once a year.