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Medvedev says Ukraine’s decision to cut off water supplies to Crimea politically motivated

Russian Prime Minister urged the government not to spare money for resolving Crimea’s water problem
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ITAR-TASS/Yekaterina Shtukina
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
© ITAR-TASS/Yekaterina Shtukina

GURZUF SETTLEMENT, May 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Ukraine’s decision to cut off water supplies to Crimea via the North Crimean Canal was politically motivated.

“We understand that the Ukrainian side has turned off water supplies through the North Crimean Canal, which was used to deliver the bulk of water supplies to Crimea. Of course, these actions are absolutely unfriendly and absolutely politicized,” Medvedev told vice-premiers at a meeting on Monday.

Medvedev urged the government not to spare money for resolving Crimea’s water problem.

“It is necessary to allocate all the necessary means and not to spare resources for ensuring uninterrupted water supplies (to Crimea), which determine the quality of life,” Medvedev said.

Vice-Premier Dmitry Kozak said that Crimea would face no water shortages until November. Problems may arise in winter and autumn if the summer is going to be torrid. Kozak said the authorities were working on a set of measures, including the drilling of wells and building water poipes, to ensure uninterrupted water supplies, and would allocate about 2.5 billion rubles for these purposes.

Agriculture, which depends on irrigation, was a separate item on the agenda. “We will have to decide what crops we should cultivate in Crimea,” Kozak stressed.

Medvedev signed a government resolution on subsidizing works to modernize transportation infrastructure, including the construction of railway and automobile crossings in the Crimean city of Kerch.

“We will need certain solutions to increase cargo flows. I have signed a government resolution for allocating funds for modernization works,” Medvedev told Russian vice-premiers at an offsite meeting in Crimea.