"Our views have become opposite": Putin ruled out the connection of the annexation of Crimea with the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Kiev

Vladimir Putin said that deterioration in relations with Ukraine occurred before the referendum in Crimea in March 2014, following which the peninsula became the Russian region. The President recalled this on the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin "on the channel" Russia 1 ".

The head of state noted that at first in Ukraine there was a coup and seizure of power.

“From that moment on, our views and ways with the leadership of Ukraine ... became diametrically opposed, from that moment we parted with them,” Putin said. However, he emphasized that Crimea returned to Russia after these events, and not vice versa.

“So, the fact that our relations with Ukraine have deteriorated, with the Crimea, in principle, is not connected,” the head of state recalled, expressing confidence that “this foam will subside sooner or later.”

Recall that on February 22, 2014, a coup d'etat took place in Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada removed President Viktor Yanukovych from power, amended the Constitution, and called an early presidential election, which resulted in Petro Poroshenko becoming the new president of Ukraine.

Crimea became the Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which 95% of the participants supported reunification with Russia. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the issue of Crimean ownership is not subject to discussion. Vladimir Putin spoke about this.

“We believe that we held a referendum in strict accordance with international law, with the Charter of the United Nations. For us, for the Russian Federation, this issue is closed, ”Putin emphasized during a press conference with the head of the White House Donald Trump in 2018.

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However, Ukrainian politicians are systematically turning to discussing the status of the peninsula. At the end of June, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky expressed the view that Kiev will be able to “return” Crimea to Ukraine.

“We will return everyone: we will return Crimea, and people. We believe in this, ”the press service quoted the Ukrainian president as saying.

In May, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky argued that he raised the issue of Crimea at negotiations with Vladimir Putin, but admitted that Russia did not intend to discuss this.

The head of the Ukrainian state expressed the opinion that the USA, Canada and most EU countries, including Germany and France, understand that “until the Crimea returns,” sanctions from Russia will not be lifted.

“So far this is the only way we are talking about Crimea ... When I had my first meeting in Normandy with Angela Merkel, she and I raised this issue with the President of the French Republic, and, frankly, I told Putin that. I feel that Russia does not want, of course, to discuss this issue. But we remember that this is our land, this is our people, ”Zelensky believes.

Shortly before that, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced their intentions to develop a plan to "return" the peninsula to the state. This was stated by the head of the foreign ministry Dmitry Kuleba.

“The strategic task is how Crimea will be returned to Ukraine,” Kuleba said on the air of HB Radio on May 5. In his opinion, we are talking about a "pragmatic calculation", and not about a "diplomatic fantasy."

Sanctions effect

Speaking about the sanctions imposed after Crimea became part of Russia, Vladimir Putin noted that the losses of the Russian Federation from these restrictions were successfully compensated. The head of the Russian state spoke about this in March during an interview with TASS.

“Yes, do not care about them, these sanctions. According to various estimates, we lost somewhere around $ 50 billion, but we earned the same amount. A lot, but it made us turn our brains on. We spent a lot of money on the so-called import substitution and began to produce such products and technologies that we did not have before, or we simply forgot and lost them, ”the head of state said in an interview with TASS.

At the same time, the president indicated that foreign states also suffered from sanctions. According to him, such measures "distort the entire economic world and European space."

“This is bad. And competition - it should be natural, without any external restrictions. But the fact is that our partners also lose about the same: Europe lost about the same, according to their own estimates, ”the head of state said.