MOSCOW, October 24 /TASS/. A decision to hold a referendum in Crimea was passed by the peninsula’s legitimate parliament elected under the Ukrainian rule, Russian President Vladimir Putin told participants in the Valdai discussion club on Friday.
The Russian leader said the right of nations to self-determination was written down in the United Nations Charter.
“People held a referendum in Crimea. It is not that we in Russia just declared that it has taken place. A decision to call the referendum was passed by an absolutely legitimate representative body of Crimea,” Putin said.
“Crimea, like Kosovo, used this referendum as the basis for adopting an independence declaration and asked Russia for permission to become an integral part of the Russian state,” the Russian president said.