Russia has the right to implement its military policy in Crimea in a way that benefits national security, as Crimea is a part of Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"Russia's security will be ensured. We are not going to come up with something extra, but what is required will be done," Putin said in his annual press conference.
He recalled that in 2014, people in Crimea voted in a referendum for the "reunification with Russia" and following a set of domestic procedures the peninsula became part of Russia.
Russia has allocated funds to build roads and energy projects in Crimea, he added.
Regarding the recent tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Kerch Strait that separates Crimea and Russia's mainland, Putin said that Russian fishers were seized by Ukraine last month for entering the ports of Crimea in the neutral waters of the Sea of Azov collectively owned by Russia and Ukraine, but nobody criticized Kiev for that.
On Nov. 25, Russia opened fire and seized three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait for allegedly breaching the Russian border.
Putin said some politicians in Kiev threatened to blow up the newly commissioned bridge over the Kerch Strait and Russia cannot allow that to happen.
"As for ordinary day-to-day activities there, they are not limited in any way," Putin added.
The Kremlin initiated Putin's annual press conference in 2001, which provides an opportunity for the president to elaborate on policy and solve pressing problems facing ordinary Russian citizens.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been deteriorating since Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum. Ukraine says the peninsula was annexed.
