Russia celebrates the first anniversary on Crimea’s annexation from Ukraine on Wednesday in which Russian President delivered a speech in the Kremlin on the socio-economic development of the republic of Crimea. "More than 82 percent of the electorate took part in the vote. Over 96 percent of them spoke out in favor of reuniting with Russia. These numbers speak for themselves," he stated. Putin also highlighted the shared ethnic and cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. At least 60 percent of the population of Crimea is Russian, 25 percent is Ukrainian, and 12 percent is Tartar. "Crimea is a unique blend of different peoples’ cultures and traditions. This makes it similar to Russia as a whole, where not a single ethnic group has been lost over the centuries," said Putin. Putin Criticizes NATO During his comments, President Putin went on to criticize NATO's presence along the Russian-Ukrainian border. "But let me say too that we are not opposed to cooperation with NATO, for this is certainly not the case,” said the Russian president. “For all the internal processes within the organization, NATO remains a military alliance, and we are against having a military alliance making itself at home right in our backyard or in our historic territory." In regards to bilateral relations with the Ukraine, Putin stated, “We want to be friends with Ukraine and we want Ukraine to be a strong, sovereign and self-sufficient country. Ukraine is one of our biggest partners after all. We have many joint projects and I believe in their success no matter what the current difficulties.” The Russian president also criticized the U.S. and its allies for intervening in various countries and violating international law. Leading up to Putin’s public address, festivities had been taking place since the weekend throughout the country, including in Crimea where people were given a day off from work to celebrate with concerts and firework displays. Source URL |
