Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are beginning to improve relations with Crimea
In April 2019, for the first time, a large Baltic delegation will be guests of the Yalta International Economic Forum, which will include current politicians, experts, businessmen and public figures.
Co-chairman of the forum organizing committee Andrei Nazarov told Izvestia about this.
“This is the first time since 2014 that such a large and representative delegation from the Baltic states will come to Crimea. The initiative of our colleagues from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to visit Crimea is an important step towards overcoming tensions between our countries and the sanctions regime. We hope that the arrival of such a delegation will give impetus to the normalization of relations. Its number will be about 20 people,” Nazarov said.
Baltic politicians also shared their views on the need to visit Crimea with the publication.
“Meeting with local entrepreneurs and politicians is a good opportunity that should be used to build partnerships. We need to move forward and break through the information blockade,” said Klaipeda City Council member Vyacheslav Titov.
“The policy of sanctions applied by the European Union towards Russia does not suit us at all. We stand for the abolition of restrictions and mutually beneficial relations. There will be many businessmen and politicians at the forum, with whom we hope we will be able to establish contacts. Therefore, representatives of our party will go to Yalta,” said Mstislav Rusakov, co-chairman of the Estonian Left Party.
“Politicians have a responsibility to maintain contacts. And I have a special responsibility to the Crimeans, since I was an observer during the referendum. The choice of people is the main thing, and I saw that the majority of residents want to be with Russia. Therefore, I am, of course, ready to visit the peninsula again,” said Latvian Member of the European Parliament Miroslav Mitrofanov.
“Crimea is part of Russian history, and it was a huge mistake that Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine. I visited Crimea several times before 2014 and I know what happened there. Crimea was a residual region for Kyiv, and the question of changing its status was always in the air. Over the past 25 years, the Ukrainian government, alas, has done everything to make the peninsula become Russian. It is useful for European politicians to visit the peninsula to try to somehow resolve this problem. After all, sanctions will not change anything,” said former MEP from Latvia, leader of the Alternative party, Alexander Mirsky.
As PolitNavigator reported, the organizing committee of the Yalta International Economic Forum will allocate a quota for the Ukrainian delegation for the first time in 2019.
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