By James Slavyanski
MOSCOW
Lawmakers in the Crimean city of Simferopol are seeking to obtain official status as the capital of the Republic of Crimea.
"Simferopol must have its status as the capital of Crimea, enshrined in law," said chairman of the State Council of the Crimean Republic, Vladimir Konstantinov.
Konstantinov expressed this opinion to journalists regarding the adoption of a new bill on the status of Simferopol as the capital of the new republic on December 10.
He said that such initiatives had been proposed "in previous years, but none of them were implemented during the time when the Crimea was part of Ukraine."
According to Konstantinov, passing the new bill would "define the organizational, legal, economic and social framework for the implementation of local government in the city, the authority of local governments, and the characteristics of the financial costs associated with the implementation of the functions of the capital Simferopol, Republic of Crimea. The bill is very timely and we will study it carefully and support it," he said.
The Crimean peninsula was annexed by the Russian Federation in March, shortly after former president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power following the "Euromaidan" protests in Kiev.
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