Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir KonstantinovSIMFEROPOL, Feb 18Crimea is ready for large-scale cooperation with Belarus and the exchange of delegations, said the head of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov. Earlier, the head of the regional national-cultural autonomy «Belarusians of Crimea» Roman Chegrinets invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to visit the peninsula on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia. «Crimea is ready for large-scale cooperation with Belarus, we have a large and active national and cultural community. For our part, we are also ready to go to Belarus and establish cooperation,» Konstantinov told RIA Novosti. once again confirmed that in 2014 the Crimeans made the right choice, and if it had not been possible to return to Russia then, events would have developed according to a very dramatic scenario.» The essence of the Crimean spring and the Crimean phenomenon is decisiveness and unanimity. For us, the anniversary of the Crimean spring is this is the birthday of the Russian Crimea and the start of a new life. The arrival of guests during this period is a great honor for us. If the President of Belarus visits us on the eighth anniversary of the Crimean Spring, we will, of course, treat this event with great respect and interest. After all, Alexander Lukashenko is a person who, unlike Yanukovych (ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych — ed.), showed how the head of state should behave in a difficult period for the country. Therefore, we will have something to talk about,» Konstantinov said. Earlier, Lukashenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti that he intends to visit Crimea, there is an agreement with the head of the Russian state Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said that Crimea became de facto and de jure Russian after the referendum 2014, and added that his trip would mean the recognition of the peninsula as part of the Russian Federation.Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 following a referendum after a coup in Ukraine.At the referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol voted for joining Russia.Ukraine still considers Crimea its own, but temporarily occupied territory, many Western countries support Kiev in this.The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law and the UN Charter, voted for reunification with Russia, according to the Russian President, the issue of Crimea is «finally closed».
Deputy of the State Duma from Crimea urged Ukraine to leave claims to the peninsula
