"In Germany, my opponents are trying to discredit our visits to Crimea, claiming that I get paid for it. This is a lie, of course. I do this because I like Crimea and, when I return home, I appear on television, give newspaper interviews, tell the truth about the state of affairs in the Republic [of Crimea] refuting everything that Western media say," Maurer said, as quoted by the press service of the Yalta city mayor's office.
The politician is currently visiting Crimea with a delegation of German and Austrian businesspeople and other lawmakers, including Willy Wimmer, a former state secretary in the German Defense Ministry, and has already met with Yalta Mayor Andrey Rostenko.
The referendum on Crimea rejoining Russia was held in March 2014 with the overwhelming majority of the Crimean population, at 97 percent, supporting the reunification. However, Kiev, the United States and the European Union still consider the peninsula a part of Ukraine.
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