Putin Says Crimea Sacred, Attacks U.S., EU Over Ukraine – Bloomberg.
President Vladimir Putin attacked the U.S and Europe for backing Ukraineand said that Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed from Ukraine in March, has “sacred meaning” as Russia’s “Jerusalem.”
Crimea’s “territory is strategically important” and for Russia it’s “like theTemple Mount in Jerusalem” is for Muslims and Jews, Putin said in his annual address to parliament in Moscow today. The Russian leader said he’s not surprised by the conflict in Ukraine given what he termed “the coup and violent takeover of power” in Kiev in February.
Ukraine is battling pro-Russian separatists in a conflict in its easternmost regions that’s killed more than 4,300 people and displaced 500,000 this year. The EU and U.S. have imposed sanctions on Russia, limiting access to capital markets for some Russian banks and companies, and blacklisting officials involved in the conflict.
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