MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Maurer stressed that no date for such a visit, that will see a delegation of up to 10 members coming to the peninsula, has been set yet. He also said that the press-tour of the German media to Crimea would be organized prior to the lawmakers' visit.
“The trip is being planned. I’m negotiating with our party structures, lawmakers in Bundestag, langtags [regional parliaments] and city councils members, with party members holding mandates at different levels,” Maurer, who had recently returned from Crimea himself, said.
The lawmakers from the Bundestag are not yet aware of plans for such a visit.
Last week, Maurer announced his intention to submit two separate resolutions within his 31-seat Quakenbrück city council calling for the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and for the European Union to lift sanctions against Russia.
“If politicians from the top can't solve this problem, we can give a signal from the bottom… The more such signals will be, the greater is the chance that the ruling lawmakers and ministers will think about their voters,” he said.
Crimea, which has a predominately ethnically-Russian population, seceded from Ukraine to rejoin Russia in March 2014, following a referendum in which over 96 percent of voters supported the move.
The Ukrainian government and many Western nations refused to recognize the legality of the Crimea referendum and have introduced sanctions against the region and Russia.
