“I personally met Kravchuk several times in his time, and he gave the impression of a rather intelligent and advanced politician. What Mr. Kravchuk says - in my eyes he completely loses his authority ... Mr. Kravchuk forgets that Crimea returned to the Russian Federation at the will of the Crimeans. We expressed our will at the referendum, it was held within the framework of international law, in compliance with democratic norms. Today it is simply, to put it mildly, incorrect to talk about the "return" of Crimea, "Gempel stressed.
He noted that Kravchuk should have come to Crimea and personally communicate with its residents.
“I am confident that our decision was correct. And if now we would hold a similar referendum again, I am sure that the number of participants would have been the same ... This question (about the “return” of Crimea. - RT ) is irrelevant for us, we have returned forever to Russia, " he concluded.
Earlier, Kravchuk proposed to create a delegation on the "return" of Crimea.
He also made a proposal to clarify in the Constitution of Ukraine that the peninsula is a "national territory".
Crimea became a Russian region following a March 2014 referendum in which most residents voted for reunification with Russia.