EU's Refusal To Recognize Crimea Elections Demonstrates 'Dead-End Thinking' - Official

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2019) The European Union demonstrates a dead-end manner of thinking and absence of common sense by refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the recent elections in Crimea, as they represent the right of people to democratic expression of their will, Georgy Muradov, the Crimean deputy prime minister and envoy to the Russian president, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On Sunday, municipal and regional elections were held across Russia, including in Crimea. Voters were electing 16 heads of regions via direct vote, as well as legislative assembly lawmakers in 13 Russian Federal subjects. On Monday, the European Union said in a statement that it did not recognize the results of elections in Crimea as legitimate and continued considering the peninsula part of Ukraine.

"Not only does this statement testify the inability of the EU establishment to exercise common sense in issues pertaining to the peoples' right for self-determination and to respect for commonly-recognized principles of democracy, but it also demonstrates the dead-end manner of thinking of EU functionaries as it has no added value to the restoration of constructive collaboration with Russia, something that the European people persistently demand," Muradov said.

He added that Brussels' statement on non-recognition of election results did not take Crimea by surprise as it simply was yet another manifestation of the old, non-constructive approach to the Crimean residents' right to democratically choose how they want to live.

"The leadership of our country has repeatedly stated that the question of Crimea is solved irrevocably and no eurobureaucratic statements can either change anything or impact the Crimeans' choice," the vice prime minister stressed.

According to Muradov, what really matters for people in Crimea is the progressively growing pursuit in EU countries - among their political, business, scientific and other circles - to cooperate more actively with Russia and Russian Crimea.

Crimea rejoined Russia following a referendum in which nearly 96 percent of voters supported the move in March 2014. Ukraine, as well as the majority of Western countries, refused to recognize the referendum as legitimate.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly claimed that the referendum was conducted in full compliance with international law and that it was the democratically expressed choice of the Crimean residents to become part of Russia again.