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Russian military presence in Black Sea, Transcaucasia facilitates stability, says Moscow

According to the Russian diplomat, Russia’s military presence in Crimea is absolutely legitimate since Crimea is Russian territory

UNITED NATIONS, November 6. /TASS/. Russia’s military presence in the Black Sea, Transcaucasia and Crimea facilitates the stabilization of the situation in the region and does not go beyond ensuring the country’s defense, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva Andrey Belousov who represented the country at the meetings of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York told Russian journalists.

"Again there was an attempt to accuse us of aggression, occupation. It was not only Ukraine but also Georgia. We were accused of excessive military activity in Crimea and the adjacent waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Again there was talk that the military presence in this region - Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas - seriously undermines regional and subregional security, European security and even represents a threat to global security," he said.

The diplomat emphasized that such accusations were absolutely groundless. "It is obvious to all sober-minded and sensible states that Russia’s military presence in Crimea is absolutely legitimate since Crimea is Russian territory and we have the right, like any other state, to conduct on our own territory the military activity necessary for the protection of our citizens, for ensuring the operations of the state. Naturally, in this activity we are guided by the principle of defensive sufficiency. We are not conducting any activities there that surpass our needs in this for those goals that I defined," he explained.

According to the Russian diplomat, "Russia’s military presence in Crimea and the adjacent waters of the Black and Azov Seas and Transcaucasia is precisely the stability factor.".