The author of the plan to lease the Crimea said that he was banned from entering Ukraine
People's Deputy of Ukraine Andriy Artemenko, who proposed a plan for leasing the Crimea, said that he was banned from entering Ukraine, channel 112 Ukraine reports.
"I cannot go to Ukraine right now, because I received official information from the migration service, from the border guards, that I was banned from entering the territory of Ukraine using any of my three foreign passports," Artemenko said.
According to the deputy, his three foreign passports have been annulled since May 5. These include two regular passports and one diplomatic. He noted that in connection with the current situation he could not attend the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada in order to "fulfill his duties to vote or to adopt necessary laws in Ukraine."
In late April, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a decree depriving Artemenko of citizenship. The head the Radical Party faction Oleh Lyashko informed that the government also plans to deprive Artemenko of his deputy mandate. Artemenko himself then said that he knew nothing about this.
Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine confirmed that Artemenko lost his citizenship as a result of the president's decision. This information was also confirmed by the State Migration Service of the country.
Artemenko filed a lawsuit with the court in which he asked that the decree be declared illegal and thus have it repealed.
In February, The New York Times published an article that intimated that Artemenko offered the US a plan for settling relations between Russia and Ukraine. This document provided for a referendum on the transfer of the Crimea to Russia for a period of up to 50 years. After that, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office initiated a criminal case against Artemenko on charges of state treason.