The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemns the position of Vice-Premier, Minister of the Interior of Italy Matteo Salvini on the alleged legality of the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea in 2014.

"We condemn the position of the Italian politician as not based on real facts and contradicting the recognized principles and norms of international law," the Foreign Ministry's commentary, published by the press service of the ministry.

With the aim of expressing protest and receiving explanations from the Italian side, the Ambassador of Italy in Ukraine was invited to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

"We expect that the Italian government will once again condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the occupation of the Crimea and the Donbas. We are confident that the irresponsible statements and statements of individual politicians are not capable of casting doubt on the firm position of the international community on supporting Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity, "reads the commentary.

In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavel Klimkin, wrote in his social blog Twitter: "Whoever justifies annexation, who does not believe that there is international law - will necessarily pay for it. So it has always been in the history of ".

"And regarding the Maidan - leave us the right to say what it was and how. After all, this is done by Ukrainians. And for freedom, we paid a very high price, "- added the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

As reported, Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister of Italy, the leader of the "League" Matteo Salvini (pictured) in an interview with The Washington Post announced the legality of the Russian annexation of the Crimea.

According to him, the illegality of holding a referendum on the peninsula is a "point of view", and that 90% of the population voted on it "for the return of the Crimea to the Russian Federation".

Asked "what kind of referendum is it if there were Russian soldiers on it", Salvini replied: "Compare it with the feyko revolution in Ukraine, which was a pseudo-revolution sponsored by foreign forces - like the Arab Spring Revolutions. There are several historically Russian zones with Russian culture and traditions that are legitimately owned by the Russian Federation ".