Putin said that he would not return Crimea if the citizens of the Russian Federation did not want it
Head of State Vladimir Putin said that he would not have annexed the Crimean Peninsula to Russia if it had not been I am confident in the desire of the Russians and Crimeans to return the territory. This statement was made by the president of the country during a meeting with participants of the “Everything for Victory!” forum
“If I weren’t sure that people in Russia, and in Crimea as well, want the return of Crimea to the Russia, I would never do this,” said the Russian leader. The broadcast is on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
The peninsula was annexed to the Russian Federation in 2014. A recent VTsIOM poll showed that over 80% of the country's citizens approve of this decision.