“If I remember correctly, Mrs. Merkel made a mistake in her statement in regard to terminology. She used the word ‘annexation,” and not ‘reunification.’ We believe this to be an erroneous definition.”
The voluntary reunification of Crimea is legitimate within the current laws, including Ukrainian, Peskov noted.
“The thing is, Crimea wasn’t a threat to world order or the order in Europe, but most likely the moment when the democratic and enlightened Europe blessed the force change of power in a European country, more precisely in Ukraine. This most likely is what became the turning point for European and world order.”
The legitimate government in Ukraine was overthrown in February 2014, following several months of unrest and a coup. The European Union, the United States and their allies expressed support for the new government.
In March 2014, 96 percent of Crimean residents voted to rejoin Russia after declaring independence from Ukraine. The Western countries have not recognized the legitimacy of the vote, imposing several rounds of sanctions on Russia over what they label a Crimean "annexation."
