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Kremlin considers it impossible to discuss creating corridor to Crimea via Ukraine

Ukrainian media reported earlier that the Russian authorities allegedly discussed the possibility of setting a land corridor to Crimea in exchange for former Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Moscow considers it impossible to discuss creation of a corridor to Crimea via Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

"I do not know anything on whether such discussions were held. I also know nothing on whether such discussions are possible," Peskov said.

He stressed that "Crimea is part of the Russian Federation." "There is a rather consistent program of developing infrastructure in this region," the spokesman noted.

Ukrainian media reported earlier, citing advisor to Security Service head Yury Tandit that the Russian authorities allegedly discussed the possibility of setting a land corridor to Crimea in exchange for former Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko. Savchenko is accused of involvement in the murder of two Russian journalists in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk Region last summer, as well as illegal crossing of the border with the Russian Federation.

Russian Investigative Committee (IC) spokesman Vladimir Markin said earlier that investigators have collected enough evidence to prove Savchenko’s guilt. "The case against Savchenko, from the point of view of the investigation, is not the most difficult for proving. IC investigators demonstrated due professionalism and collected and secured so much evidence that proves Savchenko’s involvement in the murder of our journalists that her lawyers and her supporters in Ukraine could not find any arguments except for attempts to influence the case by political means," Markin noted.

Peskov also noted that the Kremlin considers it inappropriate to discuss Nadezhda Savchenko’s fate before the trial and described reports on possible exchange of Savchenko for a corridor to Crimea via Ukraine as "rumors". "This question should be addressed to those who disseminate such rumors," he added.