Diplomat Belousov: Russia's military presence in Crimea is legitimate and defensive in nature 
Russia's military presence in Crimea is legitimate and defensive in nature. This is how the deputy head of the Russian delegation to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly Andrei Belousov reacted to accusations of excessive military activity of Russia in Crimea, RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
According to him, all actions of the Russian military are aimed at ensuring the safety of citizens and the country … The diplomat stressed that the statements of Georgia and Ukraine that the military presence of Russia in the Black and Azov Seas threatens regional security are groundless. “Moreover, it is obvious that our military presence in the Crimea, the adjacent waters of the Black and Azov Seas and in the Transcaucasus is just a factor of stability,” he noted.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed a protest of for the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Sevastopol on National Unity Day on November 4. The ministry said that Russia “as an occupying state” can show concern for residents of the temporarily occupied territories in a different way: for example, “stop unprecedented human rights violations, in particular political repression, abductions and murders, and release Ukrainians who are illegally detained behind bars.”
Crimea became part of Russia in March 2014 after a referendum in which the overwhelming majority of the region's residents who voted supported such a decision. Ukraine, the EU countries and the United States refused to recognize the results of the vote, calling the reunification of the peninsula with mainland Russia an annexation. The Russian authorities reject these allegations and insist that the accession procedure was in accordance with international law.