Kyiv: Putin’s visit to Crimea violates Ukraine’s sovereignty
On March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine protested another visit by the Russian delegation, headed by President Vladimir Putin to annexed Crimea, which was not coordinated with Ukraine.
"Ukraine considers the said visit, as well as other so-called ‘visits’ of Russian officials to the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol a gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is a cynical and demonstrative disregard by the Russians of the universally recognized norms of international law and the bilateral and multilateral treaties to which Ukraine and Russia are both parties," the statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Crimea on March 14 as part of a "working trip." According to the Kremlin’s press service, in addition to construction of the Kerch bridge, the Russian president will also visit the new air terminal of the "Simferopol" airport and take part in a rally-concert in Sevastopol.
Putin last visited the Crimea in November 2017. He took part in the opening of the monument to the Russian Tsar Alexander III on the territory of the Livadia Palace in Yalta.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that Putin's visit to the Crimea was a "dangerous provocation."
Russian presidential elections are scheduled for March 18, 2018, the anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea.
On March 1, the Verkhovna Rada called on the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, the OSCE, the European Union, NATO, international organizations, foreign parliaments and governments to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Russian elections in the Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait immediately after the annexation of the Crimea in March 2014. He promised that the bridge would be finished by 2018 and put into operation in the summer of 2019.
Ukraine withdrew from the agreement with Russia on the construction of the bridge in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimea.