Mr. Putin tells the story of how he decided to hold a referendum in Crimea to join Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said how he made the decision to ensure the people of Crimea freely expressed their wishes in merging with Russia.
"When we act consistently and quite firmly in Crimea, I proceed from the fact that similar tragic events as we witnessed in Donbass can happen. And precisely in order to prevent such a development, we are forced to take the necessary steps to ensure the Crimean people's right to freely express their will," - President Putin said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
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| Mr. Putin on a visit to Crimea. Photo It |
The ultimate goal, he added, is to give people the right to express their opinions on how they want to continue living.
Annexation of Crimea to Russia
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, with 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents supporting Russia's annexation. Ukraine still considers Crimea its territory, but "temporarily occupied".
Russian leaders have repeatedly stated that,The Crimean people have fully complied with international law.and the United Nations Charter by democratically voting in favor of unification with Russia. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimea issue is "finally closed."
