KIEV, July 29. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demands a ban on travels to Ukraine for the French parliamentarians who have recently visited Crimea, spokesperson Maryana Betsa told a briefing on Wednesday.
"Our ministry has appealed to competent agencies [Security Council] of Ukraine demanding an entry ban on the French deputies who visited Crimea in violation of law," she said.
She said it was necessary "to coordinate any trips to the autonomy with the Ukrainian authorities". "The Foreign Ministry has sent a note to all countries on the procedure of travels to and from Crimea. All foreign citizens must stick to the legislation of Ukraine, rules of international law, as well as coordinate any trips to the occupied territory with the Ukrainian authorities," Betsa said.
On July 23-24, a delegation of French MPs visited Crimea. Head of the delegation Thierri Mariani said the purpose of the trip was to see with own eyes what is happening in Crimea.
The Crimean authorities held a referendum on March 16, 2014 on local residents’ attitude to Crimea’s reunification with Russia. With a record turnout of over 80%, 96.7% of Crimean residents and 95.6% of electors living in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol voted for the Black Sea peninsula’s reintegration into Russia.
The treaty on integrating the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol into Russia was approved by both houses of the Russian parliament, after which President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law on incorporating two new constituent entities into the Russian Federation.
Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, despite the referendum’s convincing results.
Crimea used to be part of Russia from 1784 until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in a voluntarist act. Crimea remained part of independent Ukraine after the USSR collapsed in 1991.
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