You're reading: Lavrov denies Russian military was involved in Crimea events

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied on Thursday that Russian military forces were involved in developments in Crimea before its referendum on becoming part of Russia.

“There were absolutely legitimate military servicemen at the naval
base of the Russian Federation in Crimea at that time. Those servicemen
were put on high alert when public protests began and there were
attempts from Right Sector and other bandits to get into Crimea and
stage another edition of the Maidan events there,” Lavrov told a news
conference in Geneva.

“Our servicemen were ready at that moment to prevent such plans from
being materialized,” he said. “But the self-defense forces coped by
themselves, they kept those extremists out of Crimea.”

On answering a question whether there are any Russian troops in
Ukraine, Lavrov cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying “there
have never been any Russian troops, agents or any saboteurs nor are
there any” there.