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Luzhkov: Ukraine Won’t Shut Me Up
Ukraine has no grounds for grabbing Sevastopol, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov announced in the live air of TV-Center.
“When I arrived in Ukraine, I had the so-called hearty welcome on allegedly Ukrainian land. Ukraine fears my appearance same as a cat that has eaten someone else’s meat. I was handed in a memorandum implicitly implying that I should keep silent. But they won’t shut me up. Crimea residents wanted to hear the truth on that historic day [the 225th anniversary of the Black Sea Fleet],” the mayor was emphatic.
According to Luzhkov, Ukraine has no right for land that originally belongs to Russia. “Far back in 1948, Sevastopol was split out of the Crimean region as a military base, the independent administrative unit. The city has a status of republican subordination to the Russian Federation,” Luzhkov pointed out.
“When Nikita Sergeevich [Khrushchev] came to power, one of his first initiatives was presenting Crimea to Ukraine in honor of the 300th anniversary of unification.” The Supreme Councils of the RF and Ukraine passed the rulings on handing over the Crimean region to Ukraine in 1954. “But let me remind you, Sevastopol had been excluded from it far back in 1948,” Luzhkov explained.
Ukraine’s Security Service called Yuri Luzhkov persona non-grata and banned him from visiting Ukraine after the mayor voiced his opinion on Sevastopol past Sunday, during the celebration of the 225th anniversary of the RF Black Sea Fleet.
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