SIMFEROPOL, January 13. /TASS/. The Crimean parliament hopes to raise the issue of genocide of the peninsula’s residents on the part of Ukraine in international organizations. A statement to this effect has been forwarded to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

"The State Council of the Republic of Crimea … asks the Russian Foreign Ministry to render the political, diplomatic and information assistance in accordance with the established procedure in filing a request with the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations, the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member-countries, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," the document says.

In particular, Crimea hopes that international organizations will be involved in conducting "an investigation into violating obligations by Ukraine to prevent genocide in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide due to failure to take all possible steps to stop genocide against Crimea."

The Crimean lawmakers believe that after such investigation the actions of a group of persons on the so-called blockade of the Black Sea peninsula should be equated to the actions of Ukraine’s government bodies, "which should be regarded as the country’s responsibility for an international wrongful act."

Crimea’s lawmakers have also asked the Russian Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor-General’s Office to launch a probe into genocide against the peninsula’s residents on the part of Ukraine.

"The State Council of the Republic of Crimea … calls on the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee to conduct an investigation into the genocide against people in Crimea by members of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, including by establishing criminal gangs whose purpose is inflicting damage on life and health of people in conditions of Crimea’s blockade," the document says.

The parliamentarians believe that the crimes related to the so-called Crimea’s blockade should have no time limits. "We are convinced that terrorists and their accomplices who encroached on life and health of the civilian population of the Crimean Federal District will not be able to evade responsibility. This crime has no time limits, and the perpetrators must face punishment they deserve sooner or later," the document says.

On September 20, supporters of former Crimean deputy prime minister Lenur Islyamov, Verkhovna Rada member Mustafa Dzhemilev and leader of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine Refat Chubarov went on a so-called food blockade of Crimea, restricting movement of trucks with goods across border checkpoints. They were also joined by members of the Right Sector extremist group, which is banned in Russia.

Crimea was left without power overnight to November 22 after unknown assailants blew up electricity pylons in Ukraine’s Kherson Region. An energy saving regime was imposed on the peninsula, with many enterprises suspending their activity; rolling blackouts started in all inhabited localities. Crimea considers these actions an act of terrorism.