German Diaspora Invites Merkel's Successor To Crimea After Her Claims About Peninsula

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2019) Yury Gempel, the chairman of the Crimean parliament's committee on inter-ethnic relations and the head of the local German diaspora, has invited the leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, to the peninsula to prove her "wrong" with regard to Crimea's reunification with Russia.

On Sunday, Kramp-Karrenbauer, who also serves as German defense minister, said that Berlin should build good neighborly relations with Moscow. Yet, Germany "cannot remain silent" on certain issues, in particular, Crimea since it rejoined Russia in breach of international law, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel's successor.

"The reunification of Germany took place without a referendum, and it did not meet a backlash from Europeans. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had better come to Crimea and only after that make statements about the alleged signs of violations.

I am convinced that the visit to Crimea would allow her to see that her conclusions are wrong," Gempel told Sputnik.

According to the lawmaker, Germany should champion the lifting of sanctions against Russia.

"Crimea is Russia, and it will always be so, regardless of any sanctions and statements of western politicians," he stressed.

The peninsula rejoined Russia after nearly 96 percent of voters supported the move in the March 2014 referendum. The majority of Western countries, as well as Ukraine, have not recognized the referendum results, slapping sanctions on Russia. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimea's residents decided to rejoin Russia through a democratic procedure, while the referendum was conducted in compliance with international law. According to President Vladimir Putin, the issue of the peninsula's territorial belonging is "historically closed."