Russia: Time for Europe to abandon sanctions against Russia - French MPs in Crimea

Since the US are about to lift the economic, commercial and financial embargo from Cuba, there is no reason for Europe to continue its sanction policy towards Russia, said French National Assembly Deputy Thierry Mariani in Simferopol, Thursday. The French delegation supported his statement. Speaking at a joint press conference with the Chairman of the State Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, following a meeting of French and Russian lawmakers, Mariani went on to express his support for the Crimean referendum in March 2014. "Perhaps we would be witnessing a similar situation here like in Donetsk and Lugansk," the French lawmaker said concluding "My first impression here was dominated by the beautiful weather and the absence of men military fatigues." Konstantinov, for his part, added that Crimeans were offended by the negative reaction of the West towards the referendum in March 2014. "It's a collective punishment of the entire population for using legal methods rather than occupying buildings with assault rifles at the ready, like it happened in Kiev. People weren't burned like in Odessa - the people just came to the ballot boxes and expressed their opinion on the political process at that time," the Russian politician argued. The French parliamentarians are currently on a two-day visit to Crimea and are the first western delegation to visit the peninsula since Russia's reunification with Crimea in March 2014. However, Mariani has emphasised that the move is "personally motivated" rather than a reflection of France's position towards Russia. Prior to the trip, the French Foreign Ministry expressed its disapproval of the visit by Deputy Mariani, who is the co-chairman of the association of Franco-Russian dialogue.