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Hopes of Crimean people should not be forfeited — Deputy PM

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin says the results of the referendum are "a demonstration of the national spirit of our people, which speaks of the hopes that the residents of Crimea are pinning on Russia"
Russia's Deuty Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky
Russia's Deuty Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin
© ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky

MOSCOW, March 17. /ITAR-TASS/. "The hopes of the Crimean people, who have voted in Sunday's referendum for accession to Russia, should not be forfeited," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin declared on Monday.

Rogozin has characterized the results of the referendum as "splendid" and described them as "a demonstration of the national spirit of our people, which speaks of the hopes that the residents of Crimea are pinning on Russia."

"We should justify their hopes in full measure," Rogozin stressed.

According to the results of the referendum, a total of 96.77% of the people who took part in the referendum have voted for reunification with Russia. A total of 1,233,002 people (or 96. 77%) said "yes" to a question put to the referendum which was formulated as follows, "Are you for the reunification with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation," said Head of the Commission of the Crimean parliament for the organization of the referendum Mikhail Malyshev in a live broadcast by Krym (Crimea) radio-television company.

Malyshev put the turnout in the referendum at 1,274,096, which made up 81.1% of all eligible voters in Crimea. The figures quoted do not include the results shown in Sevastopol.

The other question put to the referendum envisaged broadening of the Crimean autonomy as part of Ukraine, which was approved by 31,997 voters in the referendum, which made up 2. 51%.

A total of 9,097 ballot papers (0.72%) were rejected as invalid.