Crimean authorities want to cooperate with Donetsk, Luhansk people's republics
SIMFEROPOL. May 14 (Interfax) - The Republic of Crimea has recognized the outcomes of the referendums held in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and declared its wish to develop relations with their new administrations, Acting Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said.
"People expressed their will in the referendum, just as people of Crimea had done earlier. So, we recognize these referendums. This is the opinion of the territorial community, which now needs to be legalized. They are creating new administrations and as soon as this is done and it will be clear with whom relations should be developed, we will start to establish these relationships," Aksyonov told reporters in Simferopol on Wednesday, while answering an Interfax question.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine held a referendum on the status of those regions on May 11. Residents were asked a question whether they supported the act on state independence of the regions. The organizers claimed 96.2% of voters in the Luhansk region chose state independence (3.8% voted against) and the indicators stood at 89.7% for and 10.19% against in the Donetsk region.
Crimea is ready to provide humanitarian aid to the regions, where the referendums were held, Crimean State Council Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov said.
"Of course, as fellow citizens we will support people in their aspiration and will provide any humanitarian-level help, which is required, so that people do not experience disruptions with either food or other needs during this period," Konstantinov told reporters.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions were forced to hold the referendums and had no other choice, Konstantinov said. "The state of Ukraine in the form we knew it does not exist anymore. Today this is an aggressive formation so the initiative of the regions [where the referendums were carried out] is a way to survive for these regions," he said.
The issue of recognizing the status of the regions, where the referendums took place, will be resolved at the level of the Russian authorities, Konstantinov said.