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Crimea and Sevastopol

Crimea does not want to live at expense of other Russian regions — Aksyonov

Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov says the most important thing is to solve the most urgent tasks

Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov ITAR-TASS/EPA/ARTUR SHVARTS

Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov

© ITAR-TASS/EPA/ARTUR SHVARTS

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SIMFEROPOL, April 08. /ITAR-TASS/. Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov said on Tuesday that the republic did not want to live at the expense of other Russian regions and that budget funds would be spent only on top priority tasks.

“Today, each municipal entity (in Crimea) faces concrete tasks on which the city and district administrations in Crimea are expected to focus their attention,” Aksyonov said, explaining that he meant current repairs, preparation for the sowing campaign, the start of a new academic year in schools.

“In the short term, these are small investments. We are not planning any huge investments at the moment. We do not want to feed on other Russian regions and the Russian government,” Aksyonov told journalists after a conference chaired by Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Kozak in Simferopol on Tuesday.

According to Aksyonov, the Crimean government is searching for additional resources, including funds that used to be transferred to Ukraine’s state budget, but which would now be an additional source of revenue for the Crimean budget.

“Naturally, we will try to relieve the federal budget from that burden,” the Crimean prime minister said in conclusion.

Aksyonov said that the municipal entities in Crimea had been ordered not to throw all their forces on implementing all investment projects without exception and all outstanding tasks which the republic has not been solving for years.

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“The most important thing is to solve the most urgent tasks,” Aksyonov said.

Under a Russian government-approved scheme, 14 Crimean districts and one city, including the federal city of Sevastopol, have been assigned to 16 donor regions and territories of Russia. Special attention should be paid to normal functioning of utilities and the social sector. The list of patrons include the Voronezh region, the Belgorod region, the Lipetsk region, the Kaluga region, the Vladimir region, the Tula region, the Moscow region and other parts of Russia. The donor regions have been selected with account taken of economic specialization and budget sufficiency.

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Crimea and Sevastopol

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