"I want to inform you that Chernomorneftegaz has completed the work aimed at attaching Crimean gas pipeline network to the Russian main gas pipelines. In the next two-three days we will announce that the work is completed and will start supplying Russian gas to Crimea," Putin said during the annual press conference.
The integration of Crimea and Sevastopol is progressing well, as evidenced by high rates of industrial production growth and low unemployment, Putin added.
"Speaking of the integration and how it goes… There are generally very favorable modes in this program from the point of view of Russian legislation — free economic zones, but it turned out that such integration is difficult, legally and economically… This process [of integration] is going and at a good pace, by the way," Putin said at the annual press conference.
He recalled that the growth of industrial production in Russia would reach 0.7-0.9 percent on average by the end of the year.
"In Crimea, the production growth amount to 6[percent], in Sevastopol — to 25 [percent]. Due to what? Due to the orders of federal Russian companies, and the unemployment rate is lower than the national average," the Russian leader said.
According to Putin, the promising industries for Crimea are ship repairing, ship building, as well as certain areas of the chemical industry and agriculture.
Crimea seceded from Ukraine and reunified with Russia in March 2014, when more than 96 percent of local voters supported the move in a referendum. Kiev, as well as the European Union, the United States and their allies, did not recognize the move and consider the peninsula to be an occupied territory.
