Russian Winter engulfs Crimea

Jovita Neliupsiene, senior foreign policy advisor to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said that results of the referendum on rejoining Russia, which took place in the Crimean peninsula on Sunday, March 16, cannot be regarded as legal, reports ELTA. The presidential advisor expects that international society will never recognize this voting.

"Of course, not," said Neliupsiene in an interview with radio Ziniu Radijas, when asked if the results of referendum could be recognized as legal.

According to the presidential advisor, Lithuania considers the voting of March 16 to be illegitimate and does not recognize its outcome, since this voting goes completely against the Ukrainian Constitution and violates the territorial integrity of this country and international law.

Neliupsiene said that illegitimacy of the referendum was also shown by the fact that Russia had not allowed independent observes to enter Crimea. "We can call this so-called referendum basically an annexation of the country's territory," stressed Grybauskaite's advisor.