About 90% Of Crimeans Would Support Reunification With Russia In Case Of New Vote - Poll

About 90 percent of Crimean residents would support reunification with Russia in case a new referendum was held, the head of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) Valery Fedorov said at a press conference on Thursday citing a fresh poll

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2019) About 90 percent of Crimean residents would support reunification with Russia in case a new referendum was held, the head of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) Valery Fedorov said at a press conference on Thursday citing a fresh poll.

According to Fedorov, "89 percent of the Crimeans would choose the option of reunification with Russia," as it was in 2014, while "3 percent would choose the alternative option" of remaining a part of Ukraine.

"If another referendum is held next Sunday with the same questions as in 2014, it is possible to predict with confidence that the share of those who will vote for reunification will be even higher," Fedorov said.

In 2015, during a similar poll, 90 percent of respondents said they would vote for reunification with Russia, and in 2016, 89 percent of respondents said the same, according to Fedorov.

The VTsIOM telephone survey was conducted in Crimea on March 10 among 1,600 respondents over 18 years old.

Crimea's reunification with Russia was officially declared on March 18, 2014, after almost 97 percent of those participating in a referendum on the issue voted in favor of the move. The reunification has not been recognized by the absolute majority of the international community, with Russia being subject to numerous sanctions over what Western countries consider to be the annexation of Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the issue of Crimea's territorial belonging is "historically closed," since Crimean residents decided to rejoin Russia in accordance with democratic procedures.