MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) – Crimea’s reunification with Russia serves as an address to the whole world proving similar problems can be decided by ordinary people and in defiance of the United States' will, Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official told Rossiya Segodnya on Friday.
“Crimea is an example for many people. This is an address to the entire world. This is an example proving that similar problems can be tackled by means of a referendum," Hamdan said.
“Crimea also showed that one can achieve goals despite poor external conditions and pressure and contrary to US will. That is what Russia proved. Of course, America does not like this,” he added.
Following the February regime change in Ukraine, Crimea, which was previously an autonomous republic within the country, held an independence referendum. Following the vote, the peninsula announced it was seceding from Ukraine and instead joining Russia, which was later confirmed by a reunification decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Many world leaders condemned the move accusing Russia of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity. According to the Hamas official, however, Russia simply showed respect to the expression of the will of the people.
“According to the Hamas leadership, there are many significant points in the whole story with Crimea. One of them is Russia’s respect for the expression of will of the people. The US frequently turns a blind eye on this principle.”
Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) is one of the largest Palestinian militant Islamist groups that currently controls the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas delegation headed by Khaled Mashal, the leader of the Hamas political bureau, is due to visit Moscow June 30.
