MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union’s attempts to punish Crimea for its reunifying with Russia is completely unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
“We consider the persistent attempts made by Brussels on the collective punishment against the people of Crimea and Sevastopol for their honest and unambiguous freewill during the referendum on the fate of the peninsula to be completely unacceptable,” the statement reads.
The European Council announced on Monday it would impose a ban on all imports from the Crimean Peninsula and the city of Sevastopol if goods do not carry a certification from Ukraine.
The measure was introduced to Crimea and Sevastopol’s decision to reunite with Russia following referendums in March.
According to some European diplomats, goods with a Russian certificate may still enter the European market, but in this case duty relief will not be available.
Crimean officials are nevertheless convinced that the ban introduced by the European Union would not wreck the peninsula’s economy, as it is nothing more than an attempt to exert political pressure on Russia.
