Crimea Officials Tout for Business in Serbia

The speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, Deputy Prime Minister Georghy Muradov, Economy Minister Valentin Demidov and representatives from the Crimean culture, education and tourism sector took part in a debate on Friday in the Russian House in Belgrade as part of a visit aimed at boosting economic ties with Serbia.

Muradov said some Serbian businesses were already operating in Crimea but did not reveal any names.

"Serbian businessmen started to come two years ago and are participating in infrastructure development projects in Crimea, which are being led by the Russian Federation," Muradov told BIRN at an event that saw few Serbians in attendance.

Crimeans overwhelmingly voted to leave Ukraine in 2014 and join Russia, which has formally annexed it - a decision condemned by the US and the European Union.

Serbia is one of the few European states that has not imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and role in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

But Brussels has warned Belgrade that its policy of maintaining close ties with Russia while seeking EU membership is untenable in the long term.

Deputy Prime Minister Muradov said business conditions in Crimea were favourable as it had been proclaimed as a free economic zone within the Russian Federation.  

Answering questions about possible EU sanctions, he said that this problem was not insuperable.

"That's why we're not afraid of them. Companies registered in Russia can easily organize themselves in Crimea [by opening daughter companies] and there will be no consequences for them," he told BIRN.

Asked if a lot of foreign companies had registered in Crimea, he insisted that many had done so but he could not name them for...