MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Crimea’s status as a part of Russia is an axiom, not something that Russia and Ukraine can discuss during negotiations, Alexey Polishchuk, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s second department of the CIS countries, said in an interview with TASS.

"It is not even a precondition, it is an evident axiom. Crimea and Sevastopol’s reunification with Russia is absolutely legitimate, democratic, final and irreversible. They held a referendum. Peoples’ right for self-determination is sealed by the UN Charter. [It is also a matter of] Russia’s territorial integrity. This is totally out of discussion," he said, when asked whether Ukraine’s recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia was a precondition set during talks with the Russian delegation.

On February 28, the first round of Russian-Ukrainian talks took place in the Gomel region. It lasted five hours. The Russian delegation was led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who said earlier that the Russian delegation was ready to speak with the Ukrainian side as long as it may take to reach agreements. The second round was held on March 3, also in Belarus. Medinsky described the agreements reached during this round as serious progress. In particular, Moscow and Kiev managed to reach an agreement on humanitarian corridors for civilians.