BALTIM, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – Egyptian presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi has backed Russia’s decision to reunite with the formerly Ukrainian Russian-majority Crimean peninsula.
“Your country was forced to take steps to secure its interests and protect the Crimean population. People there have made their choice and it must be respected,” Sabahi said Monday in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.
Sabahi, the leader of the left-wing Egyptian Popular Current movement, is one of only two candidates running in presidential elections scheduled for May 26-27. His rival is the country’s former army chief, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government in Kiev that seized power as a result of a coup in February, instead rejoining Russia after a referendum that saw over 96 percent of voters in the region back the motion to leave Ukraine.
Crimea and the city of 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.
Russia has repeatedly said that Ukrainian nationalists and the government’s attempts to forcefully assimilate the Russian-speaking minority bore full responsibility for the civil crisis in the country.
