The Council of the Italian region Veneto adopted a resolution on the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and urged the EU to remove the sanctions against Russia.

Member of the Council of Federation from Crimea, Sergey Tsekov, said that he welcomed the decision of the Italian deputies and called the adoption of the resolution “a breakthrough”.

“This is a breakthrough. Even if it is not accepted by the state, but only by its part or region. In Italy Veneto is an influential region. It is their own initiative. For our part we had only friendly relations, and the idea of such a resolution was their own initiative. They insist not only on the recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia, but also on lifting sanctions against Russia,” the senator said.

Russian MP expressed his hope that after the resolution of Veneto other European countries would also speak about the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions and the recognition of Crimea.  

“We hope that other regions, other European countries, and the whole world will make similar decisions. The vast majority of European countries, even those which openly demanding the return of Crimea, understand that the peninsula is a part of Russia. What happened in 1954 was a great injustice. In 2014 this historic mistake was corrected,” Sergey Tsekov stated.

The head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, in his turn, expressed gratitude to the initiators of the voting in Venice, but noted that he did not expect global consequences from the adoption of such a resolution, as the U.S. Department of State exerted a dominant influence on the foreign policy of the European Union.

“There are a lot of people among the deputies and officials of the EU countries who understand that the use of sanctions against Russia is detrimental for the economies of these countries – Aksyonov said. ― But there will be no global consequences. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of State forms this position and impose it on the EU. In my opinion, this decision will change nothing.“