MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia did not plan the annexation or any military activities in Crimea, the Russian President Vladimit Putin said on Thursday.
"Russia never planned any annexation or any military activities in Crimea, never. At the contrary, we wanted to build our relations with Ukraine regarding the current geopolitical reality. But we always thought and hoped that our people, Russians, and russian speaking Ukrainians will live in comfortable for them conditions together," Putin said.
Following the regime change in Ukraine in February, Crimea refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new authorities and held a referendum that resulted in its reunification with Russia.
The West consistently blamed Russia for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and called the referendum illegitimate. The Russian Foreign Ministry insists the vote fully complied with international law and the UN Charter and genuinely reflected the free will of Crimean citizens.
On Wednesday, the regime in Kiev announced it was going to raise the issue of Crimea's return at a planned four-party meeting in Geneva on today, which is to tackle the deteriorating situation in Ukraine following the February coup.
