SIMFEROPOL, March 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has recalled some of the considerations he bore in mind when he put his signature to the agreement on Crimea’s and Simferopol’s reunification with Russia.

"I’ll break a little secret to you," he said at a meeting with representatives of the Crimean and Simferopol public on Monday. "Over many years I’ve more than once had to stop to think what decision to make in this or that sphere. When you make a choice in favor of the national long-term interests and brush aside the likely negative side effects on yourself or some other people next to you, as a rule this point of view gains the upper hand. This is precisely what happened in this particular case."

Putin said that the Crimean spring of 2014 was a new milestone in Russian history, because "it demonstrated to ourselves and to the whole world that Russia is capable of protecting itself and its interests."

"We proceed from the interests of our people. This is the basic principle," he concluded.