You're reading: Konstantynov: Crimea will seek state status at referendum

Volodymyr Konstantynov, chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, said that the administration of Crimea does not report to the new central administration in Kyiv.

“The Supreme Council of Crimea does not report to the new administration in Kyiv,” Konstantynov said.

Speaking about the goals of the upcoming referendum, Konstantynov
said that “we will raise the question of changing the autonomous status
of Crimea to state status. For that reason, we plan to build our
relations with the central administration on a contractual basis,” he
said.

Konstantynov also said that NATO troops are not expected on the
peninsula. “We did not ask NATO to send troops. This land belongs to the
Russian world. We are asking everyone to always remember that. It is a
thousand years of history. The people of Russia and Ukraine belong to
the Russian world,” he said.