NOVOROSSIYSK (Krasnodar Territory), September 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for strengthening the capacity of the Russian ports and taking advantages of Crimean and Krasnodar port terminals, given the reunification of Crimea with Russia.
Putin emphasized that it is important "to increase the Russian ports’ capacity, speed up cargo delivery and handling, as well as secure the creation of new competitive job positions in this sphere," speaking at a conference on the development of Azov and Black seas ports.
"Certain corrections to the previous plans" will be needed, given the reunification of Crimea with Russia, Putin added.
"Existing and planned port terminals of Crimea and Krasnodar Territory should complement each other. At the same time, each port’s advantages and every logistics center should be fully used. In this respect, we should determine the capacities that should be developed in Crimea and those that should be developed in Krasnodar Territory," the president stated.
Putin also mentioned that there had been a thorough renovation and expansion of Russian port infrastructure. In particular, projects on creating logistics centers of international standard in Krasnodar Territory have been launched.
Putin reminded the audience that the flow of cargo into Russian ports increased by almost 4 percent last year despite the unfavorable economic situation, with more than one-third of the cargo passing through the ports of the Azov and Black seas.
The referendum, in which Crimea’s reunification with Russia was backed by over 96 percent of voters, took place on March 16 and led to a political standoff between Moscow and largely pro-Kiev Western countries.
