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Crimea and Sevastopol

Crimean head says decision to rejoin Russia was spontaneous for peninsula’s authorities

Sergey Aksyonov stressed that Ukraine had treated the peninsula "like a stepmother would"

SIMFEROPOL, March 18. /TASS/. The decision on Crimea’s reunification with Russia was spontaneous as the region's authorities had been uncertain about Moscow’s reaction until President Vladimir Putin voiced his stance, Crimean leader Sergei Aksenov told TASS.

"This was on the spur of the moment. Right up until President Vladimir Putin explicitly stated his position, we had been unable to know 100% if Russia would accept us," Aksenov said.

"This decision [of the Russian president - TASS] saved Crimea from a war and kept thousands alive. If the peninsula had remained part of Ukraine, the situation here would have been far worse than in Donbass," Aksenov said, noting that reunification with Russia lived up to Crimeans’ expectations.

"We feel that we are at home and all our hopes on returning home were fulfilled. Crimeans are proud of their country, they have built up their self-confidence and their confidence in tomorrow and understanding that our authorities are working on a systemic level. Look at what is going on in Ukraine and other countries. Today, Russia is one of the world’s most stable countries," Aksenov said.

The Crimean head noted that Ukraine had developed a consumerist attitude towards Crimea. "Ukraine treated us like a stepmother would, it did not really need us. The Ukrainian authorities had a consumer’s attitude towards Crimea. Everyone only wanted the land and sea, they wanted to take something from here, come for a vacation in the summer, go boating and on that score support for Crimea ended," he said.

Read also

Overwhelming majority of Crimeans would again vote to reunite with Russia, says poll

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Kiev regime that seized power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.7% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The Russian president signed the reunification deals on March 18, 2014. The document was ratified by Russia’s national legislature, the Federal Assembly, on March 21, 2014. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

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Crimea and Sevastopol Ukraine

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