"The Crimean question is off the table. I think this is clear even to those who cannot stop talking about it," Larvov noted. "The issue was resolved by the people of Crimea, and by the decision made by Russia on the basis of the clearly expressed will of the people of Crimea," the minister added.
#Lavrov: The Crimean issue is off the table. I think that it is clear even to those who cannot stop talking about it pic.twitter.com/FKDC49KYkn
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) 9 июля 2015
Lavrov also noted that Russia's partners among the BRICS countries and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have had no cause to question the results of last March's Crimean status referendum, which saw a vast majority of the peninsula's population voting to break off from Ukraine and rejoin Russia following the Maidan coup.
"No one among our partners has stated that they do not recognize the results of the referendum, which became the basis for Crimea's return to the Russian Federation," the Foreign Minister noted. "In the documents which you will see in the next several hours, the leaders of the BRICS, along with those of the SCO, reinforce our common position on the need for a complete and conscientious implementation of the Minsk agreements, which have no relation to the Crimean question," Lavrov added.
