OTTAWA, March 16. /TASS/. Canadian Foreign Ministry's statement regarding the March 2014 reunification of Crimea with Russia is ungrounded and politicized, Kirill Kalinin, the press secretary of the Russian embassy in Ottawa told TASS on Thursday.
"Any strivings to deny the obvious, namely, that Crimea is an integral part of Russia, are simply erroneous," Kalinin said. "The people of Crimea expressed their will in a referendum clearly and legitimately after a state coup, which was propped up by the West and which eventually triggered a civil war, began in Kiev."
He said the Crimeans had utilized their right to self-determination in full compliance with the UN Charter and international legal acts.
"This is reality, contrary to politicized statements with ungrounded claims," he said.
Canadian Foreign Ministry said earlier Ottawa continued condemning the reunification of the Crimean Peninsula with Russia.
Minister Chrystia Freeland said that, alongside with the world community, Canada denounced unreservedly "this violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity". She vowed here country's continued pressure on Russia, including with the aid of economic sanctions.
On March 16, 2014, authorities in Crimea and Sevastopol held a referendum on reunification with Russia. The turnout of registered voters at the polls exceeded 80% and they had a landslide vote in favor of reunification - 96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol.
On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a historic treaty on acceptance of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russian Federation, and both houses of Russian parliament ratified it on March 21.
In spite of the extremely convincing results of the referendum, the incumbent Ukrainian authorities and their Western allies refuse to recognize Crimea and Sevastopol as parts of Russia.