“The Western countries would have found another reason to introduce sanctions against Russia, even if there was no Crimea. Crimea was just a reason. They don’t need this to bring Crimea to its knees but to weaken Russia’s position on the international arena,” Aksenov said.
The republic's head also added that he believes Russia's dialogue with the West will hardly be restored unless there is a change of power in those countries that stand against cooperation with Moscow.
“When different authorities are elected in those countries as a result of democratic elections, I am sure that the position of Russia regarding friendly relations with the Western world will be recovered,” Aksenov added.
The head of Crimea also said that Western sanctions did not have much of an impact on the region’s economy, adding that the only significant issue is the lack of transport.
“The sky is shut and there are no international flights to the Simferopol airport. There is also a ban on vessels entering the sea ports of Crimea. This, maybe, is the main issue that sanctions of the Western countries have caused,” Aksenov said.
Crimea reunited with Russia in March, 2014. The move followed a referendum, in which as many as 96 percent of the region's population backed seceding from Ukraine and rejoining Russia.
Kiev and the West labeled Crimea's secession illegal, imposed an economic and travel embargo against Crimea and introduced similar sanctions against Moscow.
