SIMFEROPIL, Aug 17 Head of the Zaporozhye social movement «We are together with Russia» Volodymyr Rogov said that the Zaporozhye region does not need a second referendum, the idea of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on this score is not viable.
Earlier, Sarkozy, in an interview with Figaro, said that Crimea is historically Russian territory, its inhabitants consider themselves Russians, and talk about returning it to Ukraine is an illusion. At the same time, he believes that «a referendum under the supervision of the international community» is necessary in order to «assert the present state of affairs.» Sarkozy also expressed the idea of holding similar referendums in new regions of Russia.
“Zaporozhye, Kherson regions, DPR and LPR, not to mention Crimea, they made their choice. And this choice is obvious and final. We do not need repeated referenda. Therefore, Sarkozy's idea is not viable,» Rogov said.
At the same time, according to him, in September, for the first time in the Zaporozhye region as a subject of the Russian Federation, local elections will be held, at which the authorities will be elected.
“The irreversible process will become even more irreversible, fixing direct democracy in the liberated territory of the Zaporozhye region,” Rogov emphasized.
Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 following a referendum following a coup in Ukraine. In the referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its temporarily occupied territory, many Western countries support Kyiv on this issue. The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea voted for reunification with Russia in a democratic way, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea «is finally closed.»
Referendums on the entry of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the Russian Federation were held on September 23-27, 2022. According to the results of processing 100% of the ballots in the DPR, 99.23% of those who voted for joining the Russian Federation, in the LPR — 98.42%, in the Kherson region — 87.05%, in the Zaporozhye region — 93.11%. On September 30, Putin spoke in the Kremlin following the results of the referendums, after which he signed agreements on the admission of these subjects to Russia. Then, on October 5, the President of the Russian Federation signed federal laws ratifying the entry of new regions into the Russian Federation.