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Crimea and Sevastopol

Russian presidential contender Sobchak says she will not electioneer in Crimea

Sobchak believes the Crimea was illegally attached to Russia

Ksenia Sobchak EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Ksenia Sobchak

© EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

YEKATERINBURG/SIMFEROPOL, October 27. /TASS/. Russian TV host Ksenia Sobchak, who just recently declared her presidential ambitions, said that she would not conduct her election campaign in Crimea.

"I will not electioneer in Crimea, because I believe that it was illegally attached to Russia. As a citizen and politician I see no chance for myself to go to Crimea, for electioneering or for other purpose, except for investigative journalism, which I am going to pause for a while," Sobchak said at a meeting with residents in Yekaterinburg.

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Speaking at a news conference on October 24 Sobchak said that "from the standpoint of international law" Crimea belonged to Ukraine and that by incorporating it Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. Some politicians criticized Sobchak for her statement. Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky urged criminal proceedings against her.

The speaker of Crimea’s parliament (State Council) Vladimir Konstantinov on Friday criticized Sobchak for her statement about the peninsula’s status.

"It is a very bad idea to try to capitalize and build one’s election platform on Crimea without proper knowledge of the subject," Konstantinov told the media in Simferopol.

He also remarked that after Sobchak’s statement most Crimeans lost interest in her as a likely presidential hopeful. "The Crimeans will not support such a candidate, an overwhelming majority [will not support]," he said.

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Crimea and Sevastopol

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