"Pretentious and fruitless statements": Russia responded to the call of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine "to provide access to Crimea"

The State Duma called the statement of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba about "access" to Crimea "pretentious and fruitless".

The day before, speaking at an informal UN Security Council meeting on the peninsula, Kuleba demanded that Russia "provide full access to Crimea" and "not politicize" the situation with the peninsula.

The meeting was held at the initiative of Estonia, it was also attended by another 20 states, including France, Norway, Great Britain, the USA, Germany and Lithuania, RIA Novosti reports.

“We call on the occupying power to take a non-politicized position on the issue of access to Crimea and to provide full access in accordance with international law and, in particular, international humanitarian law,” the Ukrainian minister said.

State Duma Deputy Ruslan Balbek, in a conversation with RT, recalled that everyone - both tourists and politicians - freely visit the peninsula, in accordance with Russian rules.

“Nobody will come here on Ukrainian terms.

So this pretentious statement is inherently ineffectual, ”Balbek explained.

The parliamentarian added that Kuleba distorted information about the situation in Crimea in his statement, while stressing that the "sophisticated" statements of Ukrainian diplomats would not affect the rules for visiting the peninsula.

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“If various monitoring and humanitarian missions really want to get acquainted with life in Crimea, then no one will interfere with them,” the deputy stressed.

A similar opinion was expressed by the State Duma deputy from Crimea Mikhail Sheremet.

He recalled that citizens from various countries of the world, including well-known politicians and deputies, have repeatedly come to Crimea after the reunification of the peninsula with Russia.

The deputy, in a conversation with RIA Novosti, drew attention to the fact that only Kiev regularly tries to block access to the republic for both its citizens and foreigners.

Such behavior, Sheremet noted, may be due to the fact that Ukraine "is afraid that more and more people in the world will learn the truth about the Russian Crimea and Crimeans, happily living at home in Russia."

The head of the Committee of the State Council of Crimea on People's Diplomacy and Interethnic Relations, Yuri Gempel, also pointed out the obstacles to visiting the region emanating from Kiev.

“It is people like Kuleba who block Crimea.

They prevent the same foreign guests from coming.

In relation to almost every politician arriving in Crimea from Europe, cases are initiated, they are made persona non grata, "he said in an interview with RT.

Such a policy of double standards is inherent in Ukraine, Gempel noted.

In turn, a member of the Committee of the Federation Council on International Affairs from Crimea, Sergei Tsekov, drew attention to the fact that Kuleba in his statement uses the stamp about the "occupying power".

Against this background, the senator recalled that at the time of reunification with Russia, Crimea was in a deplorable state.

“Russia is not an occupying country, but a country rebuilding Crimea and a country defending Crimea.

Lying is the norm in the life of almost all Ukrainian leaders.

Lies in relation to Russia.

There are no bans and no obstacles to visiting Crimea.

Neither from the Crimea as a region of Russia, nor from Russia, "the senator emphasized in an interview with RT.

We will remind, Moscow has repeatedly stated that access to the peninsula is open.

In particular, in February, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, recalled that Russia is ready to accept in the constituent entities of the country, including Crimea, any international control mechanisms in the field of human rights, provided that they operate within the framework of the procedures established for such visits.

“We also welcome visits to Crimea by politicians, journalists, public figures, because we believe this is the most effective way of delivering truthful information about the situation on the peninsula to the world community,” she said.

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On the eve, Dmitry Kuleba also said that Kiev will work in three directions to "return" Crimea to the country.

The Federation Council called the words of the Ukrainian minister a continuation of the anti-Russian course.

Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum was held there in March 2014, in which most of the inhabitants of the peninsula spoke out in favor of reunification with Russia.

At the same time, since the reunification of the peninsula with Russia, Kiev has been systematically expressing ideas for the "return of Crimea." 

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that the territorial affiliation of the peninsula is not being discussed.

In particular, in 2018, President Vladimir Putin, in a film by Andrei Kondrashov, said that there would never be any circumstances under which Crimea could be returned to Ukraine.