Crimean Parliament expresses support to Scotland before referendum on independence
(date corrected to September 18 in the first paragraph)
SIMFERPOL. Sept 12 (Interfax) - The Presidium of the State Council of Crimea, which separated from Ukraine and was re-united with Russia as a result of the March 2014 referendum, has expressed its support to the people of Scotland, where a referendum on independence is scheduled to be held on September 18.
"We are confidence that the legality of the referendum held in Scotland cannot be questioned. People will state their opinion and it will determine the future of the country," the Presidium said in a statement issued by the press service for the State Council of Crimea on Friday.
The authors of the statement call the referendum in Scotland the only legal way for the region's self-determination, "which no one has the right to hinder."
The statement also says that the situation in Scotland before the referendum is very similar to the situation in Crimea. "Until this day, we have heard irresponsible statements about 'Crimean separatism.' The people of Scotland know this term: some British politicians have called their way to the referendum 'Scottish nationalism and separatism,'" the Presidium of the State Council of Crimea said.
The Crimean parliament believes similar self-determination processes are now happening in other regions of Europe. "It is happening in Catalonia and the Basque Country in Spain, Corsica and Brittany in France, South Tirol in Italy, Wallonia and Flanders in Belgium, the Faroe Islands in Denmark, Jura Canton in Switzerland, and Transylvania in Romania," the document says.
"A parade of sovereignties may hit Europe in the nearest future," the State Council Presidium said.
