BRUSSELS, May 12 /TASS/. The European Parliament’s resolution on the position of the Crimean Tatar People passed in Strasbourg on Thursday showed that most European deputies had inert thinking and were not in a position to objectively assess the situation in Crimea, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said.
"Crimea will be a long-standing item on the agenda of our relations with the European Union but not because of the European Parliament’s resolutions which reflect the inert thinking of European deputies and their poor fantasy, in fact. The majority of them are not making any worthy suggestions and are incapable of or unwilling to give a real assessment to the situation in Russian Crimea, including the position of the Crimean Tatar population," Chizhov said.
"There has been too much noise about the banned organization Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. Why is it positioning itself as a legitimate democratic body of the Crimean Tatar People? It’s nonsense! I am going to recall just one detail: when Crimea was still part of Ukraine, the authorities in Kiev did not recognize that Mejlis. But now its head has been elected to Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament], and all of its leaders are receiving salaries from the Ukrainian authorities," the Russian diplomat stressed.
"The European deputies could have demonstrated more political bravery and independence, instead of discussing their own colleagues who had travelled to Crimea at their own risk; they could have heeded their opinion and impressions and could have followed their example," Chizhov said.
He added that the proposal of European deputies to include persons linked to banning the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in the EU blacklist for Crimea was unlikely to have any consequences.
"I assume there will be no consequences. Judging from my previous experience, such extravagant ideas appearing in the depths of the European Parliament usually remain there," Chizhov said.