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Access to Crimea restricted to bar extremists ahead of referendum

Speaker of Crimean Supreme Council said the situation would change after the referendum, when border posts would be opened and passport control procedures imposed

© ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

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Crimea says stories about arrested Ukraine reporters provocation

SIMFEROPOL, March 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Access to Crimea has been temporarily restricted to bar extremists' entry to the Ukrainian autonomy ahead of a crucial referendum, the Speaker of Crimean Supreme Council, Volodymyr Konstantinov, told reporters.

“We did it to cool hotheads and to prevent people with inadequate behavior” from getting into the autonomy, he said, adding that restrictions were temporary. Konstantinov said the situation would change after the referendum, when border posts would be opened and passport control procedures imposed.

In reply to reporters’ queries whether there was a list of extremists, he said “of course, we have it”. “It consists mainly of people holding Nazi views,” he added.

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