Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the deterioration of relations with Ukraine is not connected with the annexation of Crimea. He said this on air of the program “Moscow. The Kremlin. Putin”, reports TASS.
“This foam sooner or later will subside,” – said the President about the unfriendly relations between the two countries.
Putin also reminded that the first in Ukraine there was a coup and power was seized in late 2013 or early 2014.
“at this time, our views and ways with the leadership of Ukraine were diametrically opposed, and we parted”, – said the President of the Russian Federation. And only after that, he added, Crimeans decided to join Russia.
In June, Putin also said that in 2014 Russia “acquired” Crimea. “The people living in Crimea decided to reunite with Russia”, – he said. In addition, the politician said that he would like to remind “all interested observers” that the Crimean referendum was “the highest degree of manifestation of democracy.”
“If so, then with this you just need to accept and treat this solution to people with respect,” – said Vladimir Putin. “Friction”, the authorities of the Russian Federation is the ruling Ukrainian elite.
“We do not quarrel with the Ukraine, we have separated the views of those who are in power now in Ukraine”, – said the Russian President, adding that “the Ukrainian nation has been our fraternal peoples, will remain so for ages to them.”
In March 2018, Vladimir Putin stated that Crimea “under no circumstances” will not return to the Ukraine. “What are You, crazy or something?!” — said Putin in response to a reporter’s question about the “circumstances of possible return” of the Peninsula.
Shortly before that, Putin said that Russia is “someone deliberately brought to the precincts of” the annexation of Crimea.
“I sometimes think, and I think that there are certain reasons that someone deliberately brought us to a point once where we had to act the way we acted. Not, of course, people expected that we act so quickly, so decisively, not to say defiantly”, — he said.
Crimea and Sevastopol became part of Russia on the rights of the subjects of the Federation in March 2014, after a coup in Ukraine and a nationwide referendum on the Peninsula, which for reunification with Russia voted more than 90% of voters. Ukraine, USA and other Western countries and the EU refused to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
In the period of the race Vladimir Zelensky said that he is going to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin only after the “return” of Ukraine’s Crimea and Donbas. Such a conclusion can be drawn from the first words that Zelensky wants to say to Putin at the meeting — he is going to��Xia “to demand monetary compensation” to “have held” the return of land.
“Well, finally you have returned our territories, how much more ready to compensate the money for what you took away our territory?” said Zelenski, portraying himself at the meeting with the Russian leader.
In December 2019, Minister of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow was ready to improve relations with Kiev if the Ukrainian side will show initiative and interest.
At the end of November Zelensky described Russian-Ukrainian relations very difficult. “With Russia we have a very complex situation. Dialogue will be initiated at the meeting of the four leaders of the “Normandy four” — he stressed.
During the six months before that, Putin said at a meeting with heads of leading international news agencies in the framework of St. Petersburg international economic forum (SPIEF) that Russia is not the aggressor.
“Russia is not the aggressor and does not give preference to the higher level of tension,” — said the Russian leader, noting the importance of adequate response to the aggressive actions of the Western countries.
