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Another German delegation gearing up for possible visit to Crimea in January

On Monday, a German delegation arrived in Crimea on a visit, due to last until October 28
A view of a bay in Balaklava, Crimea Stanislav Krasilnikov/TAS
A view of a bay in Balaklava, Crimea
© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TAS

SIMFEROPOL, October 26. /TASS/. Crimea’s authorities are eagerly waiting to welcome another delegation of German lawmakers and business people next January, Yuri Gempel, head of Crimea’s German National and Cultural Autonomy and Deputy Chairman of the Crimean parliament’s Interethnic Committee, told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are gearing up to receive a second delegation (from Germany), most probably they will come in January," Gempel said.

The delegation may include representatives from two companies that process solid household waste among other members, the senior lawmaker said adding, "It’s a pressing issue for Crimea."

German businesses might be interested in the travel sector given that the Black Sea peninsula hosts millions of holiday-makers annually, Gempel noted. Along with this, he did not rule out that a Norwegian business delegation could visit Crimea in the immediate future.

"We are going to suggest that Norway should form (their own delegation for a visit to Crimea)," he said adding "In my opinion, people’s diplomacy, including from Norway, is a matter of importance."

On Monday, a German delegation arrived in Crimea on a visit, due to last until October 28. The delegation features lawmakers from three German regional parliaments (Hamburg, Osnabruck and the Hartland’s municipal council) along with business people and public activists. During the visit, the members of the delegation held meetings with the regional authorities and visited sites along the Southern Coast, the city of Sevastopol and the Bakhchisaray region.

Crimea, where most residents are ethnic Russians, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities that took power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.

On March 16, 2014 more than 82% of Crimea’s electorate took part in the referendum, when 96.77% in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% in the Black Sea naval port of Sevastopol backed splitting from Ukraine and spoke in favor of reuniting with Russia. On March 18, the treaty on Crimea’s reunification with Russia was signed.

Despite the absolutely convincing results of the referendum, Ukraine and the Western countries refuse to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.