EU, US Investors Implement Projects In Crimea Amid Sanctions - Republic's Deputy Minister Andrey Kulik

Sumaira FH Published November 20, 2018 | 08:46 PM

Investors from the United States and a number of European countries are implementing their projects in Russia's Crimean Republic, but most of them wish to remain anonymous for fear of falling under Western sanctions, the republic's first deputy minister of economic development, Andrey Kulik, said on Tuesday.

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2018) Investors from the United States and a number of European countries are implementing their projects in Russia's Crimean Republic, but most of them wish to remain anonymous for fear of falling under Western sanctions, the republic's first deputy minister of economic development, Andrey Kulik, said on Tuesday.

"They [the investors] represent European countries Italy, Germany, Eastern European states. There are also those who represent the United States. Not all of them would like their Names to be publicly revealed due to the sanctions regime," Kulik told reporters.

According to the deputy minister, investment projects in Crimea tend to be successful.

"There are numerous examples [of fruitful investment]: agriculture, the restaurant and hotel business, food processing," Kulik added.

The peninsula rejoined Russia in 2014 after 97 percent of those who participated in a referendum on the matter supported the reunification.

The results of the vote were rejected by almost all countries, including Ukraine, which insists that Crimea is still a part of its territory. Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly stated that the referendum was held in accordance with international law and was legitimate, stressing that Crimean residents voluntarily chose to rejoin Russia.

In retaliation for what Western nations call the annexation of Crimea and Moscow's alleged involvement in the conflict in the east of Ukraine, the European Union and the United States along with a number of other countries introduced sanctions against Russia, targeting individuals, companies and whole sectors of the Russian economy. The bloc's restrictions, in particular, include a ban on investment in Crimea.