Simferopol - Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov arrived in the Crimea on a working visit on Saturday morning, after the Ukrainian authorities had lifted a ban on his entry into the country.
Upon landing at the Simferopol airport, a delegation of the Moscow city government led by Luzhkov proceeded to the building of the Council of Ministers of the Crimean autonomous republic to meet with its head Vasyl Dzharty.
No protesters against the Moscow delegation’s visit were seen either at the airport or along the motorcade’s route. In fact, members of some youth organizations were meeting the Moscow guests with welcoming banners.
Meeting with Dzharty, Luzhkov thanked Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for annulling his persona non grata status.
Luzhkov said he was sure that "muddy times" in Russian-Ukrainian relations and between Moscow and Ukrainian regions had been left behind. "Those unwise times, they are in the past. These times were intended to estrange our nations from each other. And this was unwise because our peoples are close relatives. In terms of economy, this involved ludicrous isolation, which obstructed the resolution of social problems and problems of development," Luzhkov said.
The incumbent authorities in Ukraine are "absolutely understandable," he said.
