Serbian Lawmakers Visit Crimea to Reaffirm Support for Its Reunification

A group of Serbian lawmakers will reaffirm their political support for Crimea’s reunification with Russia during a visit to the republic, a member of the Jugoslav Kiprijanovic delegation told Sputnik Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – Kiprijanovic, head of the press office for the Dveri Serbian political party, told Sputnik:

“The delegation, headed by leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Serbia Sanda Raskovic Ivic and chairman of the Serbian political movement Dveri Bosko Obradovic, aims to examine the situation in Crimea and to reaffirm our support for the Crimean reunification with Russia.”

During the October 26-28 trip, the delegation will meet with Republic of Crimea head Sergei Aksenov and speaker of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov.

On October 28, the delegates will arrive in Moscow to be received at the Foreign Ministry and Russia’s State Duma.

Recently, delegations from several countries have expressed a desire to visit Crimea.

In July, a group of French deputies, headed by former Minister of Transport and current member of the French National Assembly Thierry Mariani, visited Crimea, followed by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in an informal visit to the peninsula in September, during which he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Italian delegation, as well as Hungary’s Jobbik party have also announced their decision to visit Crimea but have not specified the exact date yet.

Despite a 96 percent favorable vote to rejoin Russia by Crimean citizens in a March 2014 referendum, Kiev and the West called the reunion illegal. EU governments continue to pressure lawmakers to avoid visiting the region.