On Wednesday 22 March, the Russian foreign ministry stated that the EU's policy on Crimea would not change Russia's attitude.
"Crimea and Sevastopol are an integral part of the Russian Federation" and "methods of political and economic pressure, to which the European Union persistently resorts, are futile efforts and will not change this fact", the Russian foreign ministry's press and information department stated in a press release.
In its press release, the ministry criticised the statement of the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy on 18 March (see EUROPE 11748) and the European Parliament's resolution of 20 March on Crimea (see EUROPE 11747). "Instead of repeating unsubstantiated assertions by Kiev regarding alleged 'human rights violations' and 'annexation of Crimea', European officials wishing to receive objective information regarding the situation in Russian Crimea would do better to visit the peninsula and see with their own eyes what is really happening there, as many unbiased public and political figures from EU member states have already done", the ministry stated. It said that Brussels remained "detached from reality and refuses to acknowledge the obvious – positive changes in the lives of people in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, now parts of the Russian Federation". The ministry described the European view of the deterioration of the situation of the Crimean Tatars as "mythical". "Clearly, the EU has long lost its moral right to act as an authority on human rights issues", the press release added, mentioning human rights problems within the EU.
The Russian foreign ministry also criticises the EU's discriminatory measures against Crimea as part of the non-recognition policy on the reunification of Crimea with Russia. In the ministry's view, 'visa reprisals' (a limit on granting visas to Crimeans) run counter to a range of norms of international law, as does the EU's appeal to UN member states to impose sanctions on Russia.
"Fabrications about 'threats to international security' and the 'ongoing militarisation' of Crimea also come as a surprise", the Russian foreign ministry stated. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)