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Crimea and Sevastopol

Crimea issue resolved in full compliance with UN Charter — Russian foreign minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that self-determination of peoples is a key principle of the UN Charter

View of the town of Balaklava near Sevastopol, Crimea ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuyev

View of the town of Balaklava near Sevastopol, Crimea

© ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuyev

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MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. The military coup in Ukraine undermined Kiev's right for Crimea's territory after the legal referendum held on the peninsula in compliance with the UN Charter, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"We confirm we are in favour of the resolution of the conflict in [Ukraine's] south-east with respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Lavrov told a news conference stressing that the Crimean issue had been resolved within the international law.

He reminded that self-determination of peoples is a key principle of the UN Charter.

"The military coup undermined Ukraine's right to lay claims to the territory, which, according to the international law and the decision of the parliament elected before the coup, held a referendum and the majority of the population voted for self-determination and unification with Russia," Lavrov said.

The minister added that foreign journalists should study the 1970 declaration on territorial integrity and self-determination of peoples.

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Crimea and Sevastopol Sergey Lavrov United Nations

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