Who recognized Crimea as Russian Which countries recognized Crimea as part of Russia? What is the use of Russia

One of the three newly elected leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, said he recognized the legitimacy of the referendum on March 16, 2014 in Crimea, following which the peninsula became part of Russia. According to him, the events in Crimea took place in a more democratic atmosphere than the separation of Kosovo from Serbia, and despite this, the United States and most of its allies recognize the independence of Kosovo, but do not recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. Dodik assured that he intends to seek recognition of the Russian status of the peninsula at the level of Sarajevo.

Dodik has long been known for his pro-Russian stance. He also strongly opposes the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina into NATO and states the need to establish closer cooperation with Russia. Every year there are more and more politicians who openly hold similar views on the events of the Crimean Spring and relations with the Russian Federation in Europe and other countries of the world. At the same time, more and more statements about the recognition of the Russian status of Crimea are heard from the lips not just of ordinary members of parties and socio-political movements, but of current officials holding fairly high positions in their states, deputies of national and European parliaments. Many experts consider this an indicative moment, believing that European countries are gradually coming to the realization of the need to recognize the peninsula as part of Russia and lift economic sanctions that harm everyone. However, this prospect seems to be still very remote.

To date, Crimea as a subject of the Russian Federation is recognized at the official level, except for Russia itself, by less than a dozen powers. One of the first to do this was Nicaragua, a state in Central America, lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In March 2014, the Nicaraguan ambassador to Russia, Luis Molina Cuadra, announced that his country "unconditionally" recognizes the results of the referendum in Crimea and the peninsula's entry into the Russian Federation. This small list includes the South American state of Venezuela. In March 2014, the President of this country, Nicolas Maduro, supported Russia on the air of one of the radio programs, and also accused the states that did not recognize the Crimean referendum of applying double standards.

« It turns out that dividing Serbia ten years ago and taking away Kosovo from it through a referendum is legal from the point of view of international law. It turns out that trying to take away the Falkland Islands, which are here in South America, from Argentina with the help of a referendum is absolutely dishonorable and illegal, from the point of view of Europe and the United States honestly. But if the people of Crimea hold a referendum to ensure a peaceful future for themselves, then this is not in line with the law. These are double standards in international politics.", - said the President of Venezuela.

Afghanistan also recognized the results of the expression of the will of the Crimeans through the mouths of its President Hamid Karzai. Moreover, the head of state made a corresponding statement during a meeting with representatives of the US Congress and the Senate. "We respect the decision of the Crimean people, which they made in a recent referendum, recognizing Crimea as part of the Russian Federation' Karzai said.

The statement of the President of Afghanistan came as a surprise to many, primarily in the United States itself, since Kabul is very dependent on assistance from across the ocean and Europe. According to the American edition of The New York Times, Karzai's position is due to the fact that the Pashtun majority of the country, divided by colonial borders imposed by Great Britain, sympathizes with the population of Crimea. We are talking about the “Durand Line” recognized by most of the world, which separated part of the land that is today the territory of Pakistan from Afghanistan. Kabul does not recognize this border and is counting on the restoration of its own historical borders. The “club of selected countries”, as the states that recognized Russian Crimea were dubbed in the Western press, also includes Syria, with which Russia has had particularly close relations in recent years in light of the difficult and protracted military conflict in this country.

« We recognize that Crimea is an integral part of Russia. Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and due to the events that developed after the collapse of the USSR and up to the present time, this subject returned to its roots after the free expression of the will of the people in a referendum in Crimea, which as a result directly affected the interests of the inhabitants of the peninsula. They decided to unite with their country. That's what happened”, - commented on the results of the March 2014 referendum, the speaker of the Syrian parliament, Hadia Abbas.

This year, a large delegation from Syria, led by Ambassador Riyad Haddad, visited the Yalta International Economic Forum. And in the near future, a Crimean delegation will visit Damascus, during which it is planned to sign a number of important agreements, including cooperation with the province of Latakia, as well as the creation of a Syrian trading house in Crimea and a joint shipping company.

The Russian status of Crimea was also officially recognized by Cuba and North Korea. In particular, back in 2014, the director of the press and information department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, Jeong Dong Hak, stated that Pyongyang "endorses the annexation of Crimea to Russia and considers this step fully justified." In October 2017, a new political atlas of the world was released in the country, in which the Crimean peninsula was designated as part of the Russian Federation. " The DPRK respects the results of the referendum held in Crimea on joining the peninsula to the Russian Federation, considers its results legitimate and fully in line with international legal norms”, - commented on the situation in the Russian embassy and noted that Pyongyang adheres to a similar position regarding the ownership of the Kuril Islands.

Most recently, the recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation was announced by Sudanese Ambassador to Russia Nadir Yusuf Babiker. According to him, Sudan believes that the Crimean referendum complies with international law. The ambassador added that representatives of the business circles of his country are planning to take part in the upcoming Yalta Economic Forum. The Palestinian Ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, made an almost similar statement in an interview with the media, noting that the people of Crimea "have the right to self-determination", and Palestine itself "supports Russia's actions on this issue." However, soon the Palestinian diplomatic service denied the words of the ambassador, saying that Nofal did not make any statements on the status of Crimea.

Many experts and politicians tend to include those states that regularly vote against the UN General Assembly resolution in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine to the “club” of countries that have recognized the Russian affiliation of Crimea. This is the so-called "formal recognition". Without declaring unambiguously the acceptance or non-acceptance of the change of the borders of the Russian Federation in 2014 officially, these countries de facto show their position during the voting at the UN. Ukraine regularly submits this resolution to the General Assembly for consideration, but the number of its opponents is only growing every year. If in 2014 there were only 11 of them, then in 2017 there are already 26. These are Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines , Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Syria, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

In particular, Andrei Shuplyak, Deputy Head of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, commented on the position of the official Minsk on voting for the Ukrainian resolution: “Belarus has always voted against any country resolutions. This is our principled position. Our country knows what attempts to artificially politicize, inflate problems that in reality do not exist in society and the state. The UN General Assembly is not the place to discuss and adopt country documents of this nature. Our vote against this tool is an attempt to draw attention to its not only inefficiency, but to its destructiveness.” At the same time, representatives of 70 countries supported the resolution, representatives of 76 states abstained. According to political scientists, this trend suggests that the world community, tired of the anti-Russian hysteria, is gradually recognizing, albeit formally, Crimea as an integral part of Russia. The leaders of the states understand that they will have to cooperate with the Russian Federation as a major international player in various areas, and the position of non-recognition of Crimea, which is already in fact a Russian region, will only put obstacles to establishing this interaction.

Foreign politicians, businessmen, public figures, cultural and sports figures who regularly come to the peninsula also contribute to the recognition of Crimea by the international community. People's diplomats, despite the warnings of their governments and threats from Ukraine, continue to visit Crimea. So, in March 2015, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited Crimea. Contrary to the recommendation of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Hatoyama decided to visit the peninsula in order to objectively assess what is happening in the Republic and personally learn from local residents their opinion on the referendum held on March 16, 2014. In September 2015, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the few European politicians who fully supported Russia's position on the Ukrainian crisis, paid a private visit to Crimea. Berlusconi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the peninsula. The head of the Russian state and the former head of the Italian Cabinet visited the memorial in Sevastopol dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the Sardinian kingdom who died in the Crimean War, St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Chersonese, the Massandra Palace in Yalta, the Massandra winery, as well as the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai.

In July 2015, Crimea was visited by a group of deputies of the National Assembly of France, headed by Thierry Mariani, co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association. The event was called a diplomatic breakthrough, since it was the first official visit of a European delegation to Crimea and Sevastopol since the reunification of the peninsula with Russia. In March 2017, in honor of the third anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, a large foreign delegation arrived on the peninsula, which included deputies of the European Parliament and national parliaments of several European states, as well as politicians from the countries of the European Union, the CIS and Latin America. In particular, the delegation included members of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Serbia from the Serbian Radical Party Milovan Bojic and Dubravko Bojic, a member of the Presidium of the Serbian Radical Party Aleksandar Seselj, a Serbian writer and political scientist, professor at Banja Luka University Srdja Trifkovic, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies Parliament of the Czech Republic Yaroslav Golik, Chairman of the UK Independence Party in Enfield and Haringy (London) Nigel Sussman and others.

In October 2016, 18 parliamentarians and businessmen from five regions of Italy (Veneto, Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna) arrived in Crimea. The organizer of the trip from the Italian side was Stefano Valdegamberi, a member of the Parliament of Venice, one of the initiators of the process of lifting anti-Russian sanctions at the regional level in Italy. And this is only a small part of the foreign delegations that have visited the Russian Crimea for four and a half years and expressed their unconditional support for the will of the Crimeans. The quintessence of this process was the Forum of Friends of Crimea, held in November last year, within the framework of which the International Association of Friends of Crimea, an informal club of politicians, parliamentarians and public figures from around the world, was created. This structure is designed to contribute to solving problems aimed at restoring constructive interaction and normalizing relations between Western countries and Russia, and building versatile ties between the peninsula and foreign partners.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of Russia Georgy Muradov, today there is a change in the attitude of representatives of individual countries towards the issue of the status of Crimea for the better for the peninsula.

« Examples include the governments of Italy, Austria, and Cyprus. Take even Trump's statements: he never said that Crimea was occupied, that Crimea was annexed. On the contrary, he says that Russian people live in Crimea, Crimea is where it wanted to be. We are well aware that as influential people from all over the world visit Crimea, attitudes towards Crimea in foreign countries are changing for the better. De facto, the topic of Crimea has already disappeared from the world agenda. Now we need to consolidate the result de jure", - said Muradov during a recent video bridge Moscow - Simferopol.

Partner, not ally

The scandal was caused by an incident in the Belarusian city of Mogilev. Globes made in Poland were sold there, on which Crimea is depicted as part of the Russian Federation. After a request from the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Hromada" Igor Borisov, the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee withdrew them from the shelves. And henceforth he recommended "avoiding the sale of political maps of the world and globes, on which the territorial affiliation of Crimea differs from that generally recognized in the world."

The topic stirred up the Russian media community. However, instead of discussing the really interesting discrepancy between the interests of Polish businessmen and Polish politicians (who, we recall, fully support the current Kyiv authorities and their delusions regarding the status of Crimea), commentators focused on criticizing Mogilev's decision, as well as the position of Minsk. Some even positioned the seizure of the globes as another proof of the betrayal of the Old Man, who did not recognize the Crimea, as well as earlier South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Others, however, found in this step some evidence of Lukashenka's turn to the West, which not so long ago lifted sanctions from Belarus and thereby invited it to rapprochement. However, for those who follow the Ukrainian events and Russian-Belarusian relations, there was no sensation. And betrayal too.

Belarus is Russia's closest partner in the post-Soviet space. The countries are members of the Eurasian Union and even formed the Union State, which, albeit with difficulty, is functioning. However, this partnership does not mean that Minsk completely ties its policy to Moscow. As Russian political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov correctly noted in a recent interview with Expert Online, “the modern world is unfavorable for classical alliances, where everyone is “bound by blood”.” For reasons - geographical (being between Russia and Europe), political (the importance of Belarus as the only Russian window to the West, potentially the last link for creating an anti-Russian cordon sanitaire from the Baltic to Moldova) and economic (Belarus actively trades with Europe) - Minsk is simply trying pursue a multi-vector policy. But at the same time, at the end of 2014, Alexander Lukashenko clearly told an Expert Online correspondent that Belarus would “stand back to back with Russia” on the most important issues. Neither Crimea, nor even South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are by definition such important issues. This means that there is no need to sacrifice multi-vector approach for their sake.

What is the use of Russia

Yes, Lukashenka is a very difficult partner. Firstly, because he prefers to resolve contentious issues not behind the scenes, but through an open verbal conflict (it seems to him that it is easier to push through Russia, which will easily beat Minsk through non-public forms of discussion), and, secondly, sometimes violates the rules taken on yourself obligations. In this regard, Russia has reason to make claims to Minsk not only on "Belarusian shrimp", but also on South Ossetia and Abkhazia - during backstage negotiations, Lukashenka promised to recognize them for a fee, but then actually refused his guarantees. However, in the case of Crimea and the Ukrainian issue as a whole, the Old Man behaved absolutely consistently. Perhaps for some, Belarus’ refusal to recognize Crimea as Russian was a revelation and some kind of surprise, but for those who follow the events in Ukraine, there was nothing strange here: the Old Man maintained relations with the putschists in Kyiv from the moment they came to power. He not only refused to recognize Crimea as Russian, but also spoke in extremely harsh terms about the DPR and LPR. And there is no betrayal here - there is an elementary national interest. Lukashenka does not want to fall under Western sanctions without clear compensation (and he directly told Russian journalists about this). In addition, Minsk does not intend to spoil relations with its southern neighbor. Belarusian security officials and politicians explained that in the event of a conflict with Kyiv, nationalists and terrorists could flood into the country through the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, which would create serious problems for the republic. Therefore, Crimea is clearly not the issue where you need to stand back to back.

The most interesting thing is that such a position of Minsk on the Crimea and Donbass is fully consistent with Russian national interests. What will Russia get from the recognition of Crimea by Belarus? Nothing but a hole in the budget in the form of multi-billion dollar compensation to Alexander Lukashenko. What did Russia get because Minsk did not recognize Crimea? Favorably disposed to her mediator in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. For obvious reasons, the Minsk platform for Russia is many times more profitable and interesting than, for example, the Warsaw one. If only because representatives of the DPR and LPR can easily come to the Belarusian capital for negotiations with the Ukrainian side.

In Russian and Belarusian

Other actions of Minsk, which Russian experts recalled to Lukashenka in connection with the “globe case”, are not a departure from the alliance with Russia. For example, the emphasis on the development of the Belarusian language. “In the last two years, Belarusianization has been carried out in the country, which is hard not to notice. The Republic has always had two languages. The main part of the Belarusians speaks Russian, but all the names found on the streets are now in Belarusian and, at best, are duplicated in English. The Russian language has disappeared,” Russian political scientist Andrey Suzdaltsev is indignant. Firstly, this is an outright lie, at least as of 06/06/2016. If you drive around Minsk, you can see that the vast majority of inscriptions (with the exception of the names of some official institutions and government agencies) are either duplicated in two languages, or are generally present only in Russian. Secondly, it is a substitution of concepts. Yes, Belarus is pursuing a policy to promote the Belarusian language. According to Expert Online, a representative of the state-owned Belteleradiocompany (the conversation took place as part of the third Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Russia), they deliberately shoot most of the youth and children's programs in the Belarusian language. However, you need to understand that we are talking only about stimulating the development of the state language in an independent state, but not about discrimination against Russian or, moreover, the rejection of bilingualism. Minsk simply does not go to extremes - it does not discriminate against the Russian language as part of de-Russification and decommunization (everyone speaks Russian publicly, including the president) and does not abandon its own language, following the example of Moldova (which renamed its language into a dialect of Romanian).

The greatest harm to Russian-Belarusian relations is caused not by the pragmatic and understandable for the most part actions of the Belarusian authorities, but by the unprofessionalism or excessive emotionality of certain representatives of the Russian political and academic community. From this point of view, Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Polonsky responded best to the decision of the Mogilev authorities. According to him, Belarusians can buy globes with Russian Crimea at any of the peninsula's resorts. Where they can safely go.

The Crimean young republic was able to defend its rights to independence and joined Russia. 93% of the population of Crimea positively assessed the results of the referendum held in March 2014. And it does not matter which countries recognized Crimea as part of Russia and which did not, the elections are considered valid and fair. The decree issued by the Kremlin recognizes the republic as a sovereign one.

Ukraine itself, succumbing to doubts about the fairness of the vote, prepared and sent a resolution document to the UN, blaming Russia. The UN, in turn, supported the applicant, but disputes about the current situation are ongoing to this day.

Which countries did recognize Crimea as part of Russia?

The very first congratulations on the independence of the Crimean Republic were from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Bosnia.

The political head of Syria said that the peninsula has long been an indivisible part of the Russian Federation, and relations between the countries are friendly and promising. Also, Khadia Abbas stressed that the Crimean people independently decided to return to their country.

In obtaining the independence of Crimea, direct support was felt from North Korea, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela and Abkhazia.

The Belarusian president also supported the inalienability of the peninsula from the Russian Federation.

Catalonia, dreaming of becoming independent from Madrid, sided with Russia.

The Nicaraguan authorities fully supported Russia. The country's ambassador believes that the will of the Crimeans should be fully supported. It was Nicaragua that in the recent 2008 was one of the first to support the secession of South Ossetia and small Abkhazia.

The President of Afghanistan supported the will of the inhabitants of the Crimea for the right to determine their own future. Moreover, Hamid Karzai made this statement at a meeting with a political delegation from the United States.

BRICS (South Africa, India, China and Brazil) recognized the unification of the southern peninsula with the Russian Federation and condemned the sanctions actions of the West, which caused a surge of indignation from part of the European countries. In addition, the BRICS authorities agreed not to criticize or comment on the political work of the Russian president.

The American president expresses an incomprehensible position. It seems that he is against it, but at the same time he believes that the Russian side will eventually lay claim to the peninsula anyway.

Who did not agree

Many Western countries have made statements about their disagreement with the unification of Crimea with Russia. The first were: Germany, USA, UK.

In the first days after the referendum, China's foreign minister, for no apparent reason, doubted Russia's actions and stressed that such issues should be resolved in a fair and diplomatic manner. But Chinese companies are actively developing trade relations with Russia and have helped lay a cable across the Kerch Strait.

After the referendum, the European Union, together with the United States, introduced the first sanctions:

• asset freeze;
• visa restrictions on a separate list of persons related to politics, culture, business;
• a ban on communication with Russia of the EU countries.

There is nothing to say about Ukraine. To this day, protests are raging in the country, combined with military actions against their own people. No one knows how further events will develop.

Those countries that have recognized Crimea as part of Russia are gradually strengthening political, economic and trade relations. But the EU countries, under pressure from the United States, regularly make decisions regarding the Russian side, which they do not bring.

SIMFEROPOL, October 9 - RIA Novosti Crimea. One of the three newly elected leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, said he recognized the legitimacy of the referendum on March 16, 2014 in Crimea, following which the peninsula became part of Russia. According to him, the events in Crimea took place in a more democratic atmosphere than the separation of Kosovo from Serbia, and despite this, the United States and most of its allies recognize the independence of Kosovo, but do not recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. Dodik assured that he intends to seek recognition of the Russian status of the peninsula at the level of Sarajevo.

Dodik has long been known for his pro-Russian stance. He also strongly opposes the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina into NATO and states the need for closer cooperation with Russia. Every year there are more and more politicians who openly hold similar views on the events of the "Crimean Spring" and relations with the Russian Federation in Europe and other countries of the world. At the same time, more and more statements about the recognition of the Russian status of Crimea are heard from the lips not just of ordinary members of parties and socio-political movements, but of current officials holding fairly high positions in their states, deputies of national and European parliaments. Many experts consider this an indicative moment, believing that European countries are gradually coming to the realization of the need to recognize the peninsula as part of Russia and lift economic sanctions that harm everyone. However, this prospect seems to be still very remote.

Club of Seven

To date, Crimea as a subject of the Russian Federation is recognized at the official level, except for Russia itself, by less than a dozen powers. One of the first to do this was Nicaragua, a state in Central America lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In March 2014, the Nicaraguan ambassador to Russia, Luis Molina Cuadra, said that his country "unconditionally" recognizes the results of the referendum in Crimea and the peninsula's entry into the Russian Federation.

This small list includes the South American state of Venezuela. In March 2014, the President of this country, Nicolas Maduro, supported Russia on the air of one of the radio programs, and also accused the states that did not recognize the Crimean referendum of applying double standards.

“It turns out that dividing Serbia ten years ago and taking away Kosovo from it through a referendum is legal from the point of view of international law. It turns out that trying to take the Falkland Islands, which are here in South America, from Argentina through a referendum is absolutely dishonorable and illegal ", from the point of view of Europe and the United States, honestly. But if the inhabitants of Crimea hold a referendum to secure a peaceful future for themselves, then this does not comply with the laws. These are double standards in international politics," the President of Venezuela said.

Afghanistan also recognized the results of the expression of the will of the Crimeans through the mouths of its President Hamid Karzai. Moreover, the head of state made a corresponding statement during a meeting with representatives of the US Congress and the Senate.

"We respect the decision of the Crimean people, which they made in a recent referendum, recognizing Crimea as part of the Russian Federation," Karzai said.

The statement of the President of Afghanistan came as a surprise to many, primarily in the United States itself, since Kabul is very dependent on assistance from across the ocean and Europe. According to the American edition of The New York Times, Karzai's position is due to the fact that the Pashtun majority of the country, divided by colonial borders imposed by Great Britain, sympathizes with the population of Crimea. We are talking about the "Durand Line" recognized by most of the world, which separated part of the land that is today the territory of Pakistan from Afghanistan. Kabul does not recognize this border and is counting on the restoration of its own historical borders.

The “club of selected countries,” as the states that recognized Russian Crimea were dubbed in the Western press, also includes Syria, with which Russia has had particularly close relations in recent years in light of the difficult and protracted military conflict in this country.

"We recognize that Crimea is an integral part of Russia. Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and due to the events that developed after the collapse of the USSR and up to the present time, this subject returned to its origins after the free expression of the will of the people in a referendum in Crimea, which as a result directly affected the interests of the inhabitants of the peninsula. They decided to unite with their country. That's what happened, "commented the results of the March 2014 referendum, the speaker of the Syrian Parliament, Hadiya Abbas.

This year, a large delegation from Syria, led by Ambassador Riyad Haddad, visited the Yalta International Economic Forum. And in the near future, a Crimean delegation will visit Damascus, during which it is planned to sign a number of important agreements, including cooperation with the province of Latakia, as well as the creation of a Syrian trading house in Crimea and a joint shipping company.

The Russian status of Crimea was also officially recognized by Cuba and North Korea. In particular, back in 2014, the director of the press and information department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, Jeon Dong Hak, stated that Pyongyang "approves of the annexation of Crimea to Russia and considers this step fully justified."

In October 2017, a new political atlas of the world was released in the country, in which the Crimean peninsula was designated as part of the Russian Federation.

"North Korea respects the results of the referendum held in Crimea on the entry of the peninsula into the Russian Federation, considers its results legitimate and fully in line with international legal norms," ​​the Russian embassy commented on the situation and noted that Pyongyang adheres to a similar position regarding the ownership of the Kuril Islands.

Most recently, the recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation was announced by Sudanese Ambassador to Russia Nadir Yusuf Babiker. According to him, Sudan believes that the Crimean referendum complies with international law. The ambassador added that representatives of the business circles of his country are planning to take part in the upcoming Yalta Economic Forum.

The Palestinian Ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, made a practically similar statement in an interview with the media, noting that the people of Crimea "have the right to self-determination," and Palestine itself "supports Russia's actions on this issue." However, soon the Palestinian diplomatic service denied the words of the ambassador, saying that Nofal did not make any statements on the status of Crimea.

Recognition by vote

Many experts and politicians tend to include those states that regularly vote against the UN General Assembly resolution in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine to the "club" of countries that have recognized the Russian affiliation of Crimea. This is the so-called "formal recognition". Without declaring unambiguously the acceptance or non-acceptance of the change of the borders of the Russian Federation in 2014 officially, these countries de facto show their position during the voting at the UN. Ukraine regularly submits this resolution to the General Assembly for consideration, but the number of its opponents is only growing every year. If in 2014 there were only 11 of them, then in 2017 there are already 26. These are Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines , Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Syria, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. In particular, Andrei Shuplyak, Deputy Head of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, commented on the position of the official Minsk on voting for the Ukrainian resolution: “Belarus has always voted against any country resolutions. This is our principled position. Our country knows what attempts to artificially politicize, inflate the problems that in reality, there is none in society and the state. The UN General Assembly is not a place to discuss and adopt country documents of this nature. Our vote against this instrument is an attempt to draw attention to its not only inefficiency, but to its destructiveness."

At the same time, representatives of 70 countries supported the resolution, representatives of 76 states abstained.

According to political scientists, this trend suggests that the world community, tired of the anti-Russian hysteria, is gradually recognizing, albeit formally, Crimea as an integral part of Russia. The leaders of the states understand that they will have to cooperate with the Russian Federation as a major international player in various areas, and the position of non-recognition of Crimea, which is already in fact a Russian region, will only put obstacles to establishing this interaction.

Through the channels of public diplomacy

Foreign politicians, businessmen, public figures, cultural and sports figures who regularly come to the peninsula also contribute to the recognition of Crimea by the international community. People's diplomats, despite the warnings of their governments and threats from Ukraine, continue to visit Crimea.

So, in March 2015, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited Crimea. Contrary to the recommendation of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Hatoyama decided to visit the peninsula in order to objectively assess what is happening in the Republic and personally learn from local residents their opinion on the referendum held on March 16, 2014. In September 2015, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the few European politicians who fully supported Russia's position on the Ukrainian crisis, paid a private visit to Crimea. Berlusconi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the peninsula. The head of the Russian state and the former head of the Italian Cabinet visited the memorial in Sevastopol dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the Sardinian kingdom who died in the Crimean War, St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Chersonese, the Massandra Palace in Yalta, the Massandra winery, and the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai.

In July 2015, Crimea was visited by a group of deputies of the National Assembly of France, headed by Thierry Mariani, co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association. The event was called a diplomatic breakthrough, since it was the first official visit of a European delegation to Crimea and Sevastopol since the reunification of the peninsula with Russia.

In March 2017, in honor of the third anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, a large foreign delegation arrived on the peninsula, which included deputies of the European Parliament and national parliaments of several European states, as well as politicians from the countries of the European Union, the CIS and Latin America. In particular, the delegation included members of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Serbia from the Serbian Radical Party Milovan Bojic and Dubravko Bojic, a member of the Presidium of the Serbian Radical Party Aleksandar Seselj, a Serbian writer and political scientist, professor at Banja Luka University Srdja Trifkovic, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies Parliament of the Czech Republic Yaroslav Golik, Chairman of the UK Independence Party in Enfield and Haringy (London) Nigel Sussman and others.

In October 2016, 18 parliamentarians and businessmen from five regions of Italy (Veneto, Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna) arrived in Crimea. On the Italian side, the trip was organized by Stefano Valdegamberi, a member of the Venice Parliament, one of the initiators of the process of lifting anti-Russian sanctions at the regional level in Italy.

And this is only a small part of the foreign delegations that have visited the Russian Crimea for four and a half years and expressed their unconditional support for the will of the Crimeans. The quintessence of this process was the Forum of Friends of Crimea, held in November last year, within the framework of which the International Association of Friends of Crimea, an informal club of politicians, parliamentarians and public figures from around the world, was created. This structure is designed to contribute to solving problems aimed at restoring constructive interaction and normalizing relations between Western countries and Russia, and building versatile ties between the peninsula and foreign partners.

According to Georgy Muradov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of Russia, today there is a change in the attitude of representatives of individual countries towards the issue of the status of Crimea for the better for the peninsula.

“The governments of Italy, Austria, Cyprus can be cited as an example. Take even Trump’s statements: he never said that Crimea was occupied, that Crimea was annexed. On the contrary, he says that Russian people live in Crimea, Crimea ended up where he wanted be. We are well aware that as influential people from all over the world visit Crimea, attitudes towards Crimea in foreign countries are changing for the better. De facto, the topic of Crimea has already disappeared from the world agenda. Now we need to consolidate the result de jure," he said Muradov during a recent video bridge between Moscow and Simferopol at the Rossiya Segodnya multimedia press center.

One of the three newly elected leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, said he recognized the legitimacy of the referendum on March 16, 2014 in Crimea, following which the peninsula became part of Russia.

According to him, the events in Crimea took place in a more democratic atmosphere than the separation of Kosovo from Serbia, and despite this, the United States and most of its allies recognize the independence of Kosovo, but do not recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. Dodik assured that he intends to seek recognition of the Russian status of the peninsula at the level of Sarajevo. © RIA Novosti. Aleksey Nikolsky Go to photobank The leader of Bosnia and Herzegovina will seek recognition of the Crimea as part of Russia Dodik has long been known for his pro-Russian position. He also strongly opposes the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina into NATO and states the need for closer cooperation with Russia. Every year there are more and more politicians who openly hold similar views on the events of the Crimean Spring and relations with the Russian Federation in Europe and other countries of the world. At the same time, more and more statements about the recognition of the Russian status of Crimea are heard from the lips not just of ordinary members of parties and socio-political movements, but of current officials holding fairly high positions in their states, deputies of national and European parliaments. Many experts consider this an indicative moment, believing that European countries are gradually coming to the realization of the need to recognize the peninsula as part of Russia and lift economic sanctions that harm everyone. However, this prospect seems to be still very remote. Club of seven © RIA Novosti. Aleksey MalgavkoGo to the photobank A movement has been created in Turkey in support of the Russian status of Crimea To date, Crimea, as a subject of the Russian Federation, is officially recognized at the official level, except for Russia itself, by less than a dozen powers. One of the first to do this was Nicaragua, a state in Central America, lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In March 2014, the Nicaraguan ambassador to Russia, Luis Molina Cuadra, announced that his country "unconditionally" recognizes the results of the referendum in Crimea and the peninsula's entry into the Russian Federation. This small list includes the South American state of Venezuela. In March 2014, the President of this country, Nicolas Maduro, supported Russia on the air of one of the radio programs, and also accused the states that did not recognize the Crimean referendum of applying double standards. © RIA Novosti. Sergey MalgavkoGo to the photo bank Crimean authorities invited the head of the Republika Srpska to the peninsula “It turns out that dividing Serbia ten years ago and taking away Kosovo from it through a referendum is legal from the point of view of international law. It turns out that trying to take away the Falkland Islands, which are here in South America, from Argentina with the help of a referendum is absolutely dishonorable and illegal, from the point of view of Europe and the United States honestly. But if the people of Crimea hold a referendum to ensure a peaceful future for themselves, then this is not in line with the law. These are double standards in international politics,” the Venezuelan president said. Afghanistan also recognized the results of the expression of the will of the Crimeans through the mouths of its President Hamid Karzai. Moreover, the head of state made a corresponding statement during a meeting with representatives of the US Congress and the Senate. "We respect the decision of the Crimean people, which they made in the recent referendum, recognizing Crimea as part of the Russian Federation," Karzai said. © RIA Novosti. Aleksey Malgavko Go to the photo bank Sudan recognizes the Russian status of Crimea - Ambassador The statement of the President of Afghanistan came as a surprise to many, primarily in the United States itself, since Kabul is very dependent on assistance from overseas and Europe. According to the American edition of The New York Times, Karzai's position is due to the fact that the Pashtun majority of the country, divided by colonial borders imposed by Great Britain, sympathizes with the population of Crimea. We are talking about the “Durand Line” recognized by most of the world, which separated part of the land that is today the territory of Pakistan from Afghanistan. Kabul does not recognize this border and is counting on the restoration of its own historical borders. The “club of selected countries”, as the states that recognized Russian Crimea were dubbed in the Western press, also includes Syria, with which Russia has had particularly close relations in recent years in light of the difficult and protracted military conflict in this country. © RIA Novosti. Aleksey MalgavkoGo to the photobank Palestine supports Russia in the issue of Crimea - ambassador “We recognize that Crimea is an integral part of Russia. Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and due to the events that developed after the collapse of the USSR and up to the present time, this subject returned to its roots after the free expression of the will of the people in a referendum in Crimea, which as a result directly affected the interests of the inhabitants of the peninsula. They decided to unite with their country. This is what happened,” commented the speaker of the Syrian parliament, Hadiya Abbas, commenting on the results of the March 2014 referendum. This year, a large delegation from Syria, led by Ambassador Riyad Haddad, visited the Yalta International Economic Forum. And in the near future, a Crimean delegation will visit Damascus, during which it is planned to sign a number of important agreements, including cooperation with the province of Latakia, as well as the creation of a Syrian trading house in Crimea and a joint shipping company. © RIA Novosti. Grigory Sysoev Go to photo bank Nebenzya answered Pompeo on the Crimean issue The Russian status of Crimea was also officially recognized by Cuba and North Korea. In particular, back in 2014, the director of the press and information department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, Jeong Dong Hak, stated that Pyongyang "endorses the annexation of Crimea to Russia and considers this step fully justified." In October 2017, a new political atlas of the world was released in the country, in which the Crimean peninsula was designated as part of the Russian Federation. “The DPRK respects the results of the referendum held in Crimea on the entry of the peninsula into the Russian Federation, considers its results legitimate and fully in line with international legal norms,” the Russian embassy commented on the situation and noted that Pyongyang adheres to a similar position regarding the ownership of the Kuril Islands. © RIA Novosti. Konstantin ChalabovGo to the photo bank Forbidden, but welcome: how Norwegians will help Europeans travel to Crimea Most recently, Sudanese Ambassador to Russia Nadir Yusuf Babiker announced the recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. According to him, Sudan believes that the Crimean referendum complies with international law. The ambassador added that representatives of the business circles of his country are planning to take part in the upcoming Yalta Economic Forum. The Palestinian Ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, made an almost similar statement in an interview with the media, noting that the people of Crimea "have the right to self-determination", and Palestine itself "supports Russia's actions on this issue." However, soon the Palestinian diplomatic service denied the words of the ambassador, saying that Nofal did not make any statements on the status of Crimea. Recognition by voting © RIA Novosti. Oleksandr PolegenkoGo to the photobank “Let’s see” - Trump on recognizing Crimea as Russian Many experts and politicians tend to include those states that regularly vote against the UN General Assembly resolution in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine to the “club” of countries that have recognized the Russian belonging of Crimea. This is the so-called "formal recognition". Without declaring unambiguously the acceptance or non-acceptance of the change of the borders of the Russian Federation in 2014 officially, these countries de facto show their position during the voting at the UN. Ukraine regularly submits this resolution to the General Assembly for consideration, but the number of its opponents is only growing every year. If in 2014 there were only 11 of them, then in 2017 there are already 26. These are Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines , Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Syria, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. © RIA Novosti. Aleksey Malgavko Go to the photobank There would be no happiness, or Why Crimea is grateful to the EU for sanctions This is our principled position. Our country knows what attempts to artificially politicize, inflate problems that in reality do not exist in society and the state. The UN General Assembly is not the place to discuss and adopt country documents of this nature. Our vote against this tool is an attempt to draw attention to its not only inefficiency, but to its destructiveness.” At the same time, representatives of 70 countries supported the resolution, representatives of 76 states abstained. According to political scientists, this trend suggests that the world community, tired of the anti-Russian hysteria, is gradually recognizing, albeit formally, Crimea as an integral part of Russia. The leaders of the states understand that they will have to cooperate with the Russian Federation as a major international player in various areas, and the position of non-recognition of Crimea, which is already in fact a Russian region, will only put obstacles to establishing this interaction. Through the channels of public diplomacy © RIA Novosti. Aleksey Vitvitsky Go to photobank Berlusconi considers the reunification of Crimea with Russia legal People's diplomats, despite the warnings of their governments and threats from Ukraine, continue to visit Crimea. So, in March 2015, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited Crimea. Contrary to the recommendation of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Hatoyama decided to visit the peninsula in order to objectively assess what is happening in the Republic and personally learn from local residents their opinion on the referendum held on March 16, 2014. In September 2015, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the few European politicians who fully supported Russia's position on the Ukrainian crisis, paid a private visit to Crimea. Berlusconi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the peninsula. The head of the Russian state and the former head of the Italian Cabinet visited the memorial in Sevastopol dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the Sardinian kingdom who died in the Crimean War, St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Chersonese, the Massandra Palace in Yalta, the Massandra winery, as well as the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai. © Flickr/ madcowk Italian Prime Minister candidate called for the lifting of sanctions against Russia In July 2015, a group of deputies of the French National Assembly headed by Thierry Mariani, co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association, visited Crimea. The event was called a diplomatic breakthrough, since it was the first official visit of a European delegation to Crimea and Sevastopol since the reunification of the peninsula with Russia. In March 2017, in honor of the third anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, a large foreign delegation arrived on the peninsula, which included deputies of the European Parliament and national parliaments of several European states, as well as politicians from the countries of the European Union, the CIS and Latin America. In particular, the delegation included members of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Serbia from the Serbian Radical Party Milovan Bojic and Dubravko Bojic, a member of the Presidium of the Serbian Radical Party Aleksandar Seselj, a Serbian writer and political scientist, professor at Banja Luka University Srdja Trifkovic, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies Parliament of the Czech Republic Yaroslav Golik, Chairman of the UK Independence Party in Enfield and Haringy (London) Nigel Sussman and others. © RIA Novosti Crimea. Oleksandr Polegenko Half of East Germans Recognize Russian Crimea – Politician In October 2016, 18 parliamentarians and businessmen from five regions of Italy (Veneto, Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna) arrived in Crimea. The organizer of the trip from the Italian side was Stefano Valdegamberi, a member of the Parliament of Venice, one of the initiators of the process of lifting anti-Russian sanctions at the regional level in Italy. And this is only a small part of the foreign delegations that have visited the Russian Crimea for four and a half years and expressed their unconditional support for the will of the Crimeans. The quintessence of this process was the Forum of Friends of Crimea, held in November last year, within the framework of which the International Association of Friends of Crimea, an informal club of politicians, parliamentarians and public figures from around the world, was created. This structure is designed to contribute to solving problems aimed at restoring constructive interaction and normalizing relations between Western countries and Russia, and building versatile ties between the peninsula and foreign partners. © RIA Novosti. Artem Zhitenev Go to photo bank When the West recognizes the return of Crimea to Russia According to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of Russia Georgy Muradov, today there is a change in the attitude of representatives of individual countries towards the issue of the status of Crimea for the better for the peninsula. “The governments of Italy, Austria, Cyprus can be cited as an example. Take even Trump's statements: he never said that Crimea was occupied, that Crimea was annexed. On the contrary, he says that Russian people live in Crimea, Crimea is where it wanted to be. We are well aware that as influential people from all over the world visit Crimea, attitudes towards Crimea in foreign countries are changing for the better. De facto, the topic of Crimea has already disappeared from the world agenda. Now we need to consolidate the result de jure,” Muradov said during a recent video bridge between Moscow and Simferopol at the Rossiya Segodnya multimedia press center.