FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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The Lega and M5S Recognize Crimea’s Referendum To Reunify with Russia

July 28, 2018 (EIRNS)—Italy’s two ruling parties—Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) and Lega—recognize the referendum held in Crimea in 2014 to reunite with Russia, but Rome continues to adhere to the European Union line, which considers Crimea’s reunification to be a violation of international law, M5S member Manlio Di Stefano told TASS.

“The Five Star Movement recognizes the referendum but the ‘government contract’ does not imply the recognition of Crimea’s status, which is why Rome continues to stick to the EU’s line,”

he said. The EU considers that Crimea is a Ukrainian region “annexed” by Russia, and is one if its major excuses for maintaining the sanctions against Russia.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the Lega party, has said on many occasions that the Crimean referendum was legitimate. Regional councils in the Italian regions of Veneto, Lombardy and Liguria, where the Lega has a majority, have passed resolutions arguing for the EU to remove sanctions against Moscow and recognize Crimea as part of Russia.