Sergey Naryshkin: “Twenty-three years ago, Ukraine appropriated Crimea”

Twenty-three years ago, Ukraine inherently appropriated Crimea, but for the residents of the peninsula its sovereignty remained, at least, disputable,” Sergey Naryshkin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, said on Wednesday, December 17, when discussing the Report on Legislation in Russia for 2014.

“Twenty-three years ago, Crimea was inherently appropriated, annexed by Ukraine ‘on the sly,’ amid the collapsing Soviet Union.  However, for the Crimeans, its sovereignty over the peninsula remained, at least, disputable,” said head of the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament.

Meanwhile, he noted, “under the international law, Crimea’s transfer to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 was null and void.”