German Delegation Says Impressed By Positive Post-Reunification Changes In Crimea

The German delegation that is currently on a four-day visit to Crimea has been impressed at how development projects and investment have transformed the peninsula over the past five years after its reunification with Russia, the head of the delegation said

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) The German delegation that is currently on a four-day visit to Crimea has been impressed at how development projects and investment have transformed the peninsula over the past five years after its reunification with Russia, the head of the delegation said.

The 10-strong delegation comprising members of German public associations and journalists arrived in Crimea on March 16, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the peninsula's reunification with Russia.

"We are very impressed with what has happened here over the past five years. We see development and investment ... We have been impressed by the Crimean Bridge and the new [Simferopol international] airport," the head of the delegation said at the meeting with the republic's parliament.

He noted that Kiev had done nothing to develop the region while it was still a part of Ukraine.

"We have seen a lot in Crimea and we saw that people are cheerful here and content with their lives," the head of the delegation added.

On Monday, Russia celebrated the fifth anniversary of Crimea's reunification with the country, which was officially proclaimed on March 18, 2014. The reunification was preceded by a regional referendum, in which almost 97 percent of local residents who voted in the referendum chose to reunite with Russia following a change of power in Kiev, which some considered to be a coup.