Ukraine should recognize Crimea's accession to start talks on compensation - Crimean city council speaker
SIMFEROPOL. June 4 (Interfax) - Crimean authorities do not rule out the possibility of talks with Ukraine on compensating funds Kyiv invested in the peninsula's development but first Ukraine should recognize Crimea's accession to Russia, Crimean city council speaker Vladimir Konstantinov said.
"If they want to agree on something and to get compensations, first they need to recognize the Crimean referendum results and recognize Crimea's accession to Russia. If they recognize this, we will have grounds for discussion and for talks," Konstantinov said in an interview with Interfax.
The size of compensations can not be considerable because Ukraine's investments in Crimean infrastructure were insignificant, Konstantinov said.
"We will ask them what compensations they want and will sort out when and what funds Ukraine invested in Crimea. If it was during the Soviet times, then sorry. If investments were during the years of Ukraine's independence, then probably compensation mechanisms, let's say discounts for Russian gas, could be discussed. But I do not see major facilities built during the years of Ukraine's independence. So there will not be much to compensate," he said.
