Balbeck noted that the ex-chancellor of Germany expressed only one main, in his opinion, reason for the return of Crimea to Russia.

He added that the inhabitants of the peninsula all the years of being a part of Ukraine did not accept it as an independent state.

“Mentally, we remained part of the vast Russia.

The enlargement of NATO, Ukrainization, the "European values" we do not understand, only strengthened our confidence, "the deputy stressed.

At the same time, the parliamentarian noted that Schroeder is a person who understands Russia better than other European politicians.

“If the European establishment had at least a little of this knowledge, I am sure there would be no problem of Crimea, no civil conflict within Ukraine, no our differences and anti-Russian hysteria on the international agenda,” he concluded.

Earlier, Schroeder, in an interview with Der Spiegel, spoke about his understanding of the reasons for the reunification of Crimea with Russia.

According to him, this was influenced by the discussion on the admission of Georgia and Ukraine to NATO, which was "nothing more than a strategy to encircle Russia."

He noted that before that, Russia was much more open to cooperation with NATO.

Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which most residents voted in favor of reunification with Russia.