MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow believes that the decision by the current authorities in Kiev to shut off water supplies to Crimea is a mockery of common sense, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
“The decision of Kiev’s authorities to shut off the water to Crimean Republic of Russian Federation has become real mockery of common sense. We assess this step as irresponsible, that must be assessed the way it should be by Crimean residents,” Lukashevich said.
Ukraine supplies up to 85 percent of Crimea’s fresh water through the North-Crimean Canal connecting the Dnieper River with the peninsula. Earlier in April, the Ukrainian government made a decision to halt all fresh water supplies to Crimea citing Crimea’s unpaid debts for earlier supplies as a reason.
Crimea, which was previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government in Kiev that came to power following the February overthrow of President Yanukovych. On March 16, citizens of the republic held a referendum which saw over 96 percent of voters in the region back the motion to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
Crimea and Sevastopol, which has a special status within the region, became subjects of the Russian Federation on March 21 after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed reunification documents into law.
