Syria's ambassador for Russia: Bashar al-Assad has no plans to visit Crimea
Syrian President, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, has no plans to attend the Yalta International Economic Forum (YIEF), scheduled for this April, reports the Russian news agency TASS with reference to Syria's ambassador in Moscow, Riyad Haddad.
Earlier, the ambassador said that al-Assad "is unlikely to be able to take part" in the Yalta International Economic Forum.
The co-chairman of the Yalta International Economic Forum Foundation, Andrei Nazarov, said that Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, and French politician, the National Rally political party leader, Marine Le Pen, will attend the Yalta Economic Forum, which the Russian authorities of Crimea plan to hold at the end of April.
On January 17, the deputy of the Russian State Duma from Sevastopol, Dmitry Belik, who visited Syria as part of the Russian delegation, said that al-Assad had told him that he would like to visit the Crimea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine constantly encourages foreigners and stateless persons to enter the Crimea annexed by Russia exclusively in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and the norms of international law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously announced that foreign politicians’ visits to Crimea do not have the official status.
The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.