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PM Aksyonov: Crimea to guarantee private property but to nationalise Ukraine’s assets

MOSCOW, March 14, /ITAR-TASS/. The Crimean authorities will guarantee the inviolability of private property and businesses, but have the intention to nationalize Ukraine’s state-owned assets in the peninsula, Crimea’s Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov has said in an interview to the Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“I would like to tell all business people to take it easy. There will be no reprivatisation. We shall guarantee that. Private businesses may go on working as usual. The more so, since there will be no threats. Moreover, if we join Russia, Crimea may hope to get preferences, for instance, a free economic zone,” Aksyonov speculated.

“With public enterprises it’s all different,” he said. We are planning to make them Crimea’s property. This applies to the energy industry and the mineral resources extraction enterprises. The natural riches of Crimea belong to its people, so the businesses that use them should be obliged to work for the benefit of the people. With this in mind we made a decision to put some publicly-owned solar power plants on Crimea’s balance sheet.

“Also, Crimea plans to take over the ships of Ukraine’s naval forces and the fleet of the oil and gas extracting company Chernomorneftegaz, which is a public enterprise. But let me say once again, nationalization will apply only to public assets. It will by no means affect private businesses,” Aksyonov said.

About the future of Ukrainian military in the peninsula Aksyonov said, “Some ten thousand Ukrainian military are on active service in Crimea’s territory. All of them are free to join our armed forces, regardless of whether they are Crimean residents or come from other regions of Ukraine.”

“Those who have no such wish will be free to leave Crimea without any problems. We shall not be trying to keep anyone by force. Moreover, we shall guarantee all military, irrespective of whether they have decided to stay or to go, the payment of all due cash allowances. But in case of calls for mutiny, in particular, the use of weapons, we shall launch criminal proceedings.