MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Dirty propaganda of the US and its satellites distorts the perception of the real situation in Crimea after its incorporation into Russia, speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin said on Friday.
"I must say that cynical and, I would say, dirty propaganda unleashed by the United States and its satellites hinders the correct perception of the situation that has taken shape after the free expression of the Crimean population’s will," the lawmaker told visiting former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama, who has just returned from the Black Sea peninsula.
"I know that you returned from Simferopol yesterday, where you had a busy agenda and where you had an opportunity to hold a large number of meetings, discussions and consultations, " Naryshkin said, addressing his interlocutor.
The Duma speaker has no doubt that Hatoyama could see for himself that "residents of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were free people responsible for their choice, who had opted for their future within Russia". He expressed the hope that the influential Japanese politician would share with his fellow countrymen "his perception of the real situation on the peninsula", adding that "this would contribute to the restoration of mutually-advantageous contacts and cooperation between the two countries".
Naryshkin confirmed that he paid special attention to Hatoyama’s current visit to Russia. "I must say that your firm intention to travel to Russia despite pressure from the official Tokyo and to see with your own eyes what’s going on in Crimea, to meet local politicians, government officials and ordinary residents of Crimea deserves respect and even admiration," Naryshkin said.
In addition to that, the Russian lawmaker thanked the former Japanese Prime Minister for his appeal to the government in his country to renounce unlawful anti-Russian sanctions.