Duma MP 'counters' NATO Secretary General's statement on Crimea's return to Russia

Earlier, the head of the North Atlantic Alliance said that the reunification of Crimea with Russia occurred due to the competition between the great powers. According to him, Russia has become more assertive in its policy and continues to build up its military potential and maintain its presence in the Middle East.

However, according to Duma MP Ruslan Balbek, the referendum in Crimea is the result of people's desire to return to their homeland, rather than participate in another competitive game.

“Despite the intrigues of the United States on the international stage, they will not succeed in convincing the population of the peninsula that the desire for unification with Russia is insincere. The Crimean people did not associate themselves with Ukraine after the coup, they have not been interested in the path to Europe, NATO and other places for the past 30 years. They want to go home, and they got this opportunity in 2014,” Balbek said.

He also noted that holding the Crimean referendum plays an important role in Russia's population protection policy, demonstrating its desire to become part of Russia.

Another Duma deputy, Natalya Poklonskaya, stated: “But what about human rights and freedoms, democracy, and everything else? Perhaps, today in the context of globalism, this is no longer important. In 2014, we, the Crimean people, exercised our right to self-determination and defended our lives from the Maidan rebels and did not think about any global superiority, unlike the NATO Secretary General.”

According to Senator Alexei Pushkov, a member of the Federation Council, Stoltenberg's statement confirmed the US and NATO plans to use the peninsula for strategic purposes. "Mr. Stoltenberg admitted that the US and NATO countries have plans for Crimea and Sevastopol. They want to turn them into their naval bases. In case anyone had any doubts," the senator tweeted.