Ukraine allows passage of cars to Crimea

Simferopol, Dec 27 (IANS/TASS) Ukraine reopened its border with the Crimean peninsula for passenger cars after closing it earlier Saturday.

"By 16.00 hours Moscow Standard Time, the border was reopened for the cars arriving from Ukraine, at the Armyansk and Perekov crossing stations," a spokesman for the Crimean customs service said.

"The Ukrainian side Saturday stopped letting passenger cars though the Armyansk and Pepekov border stations," he said, adding: "In the wake of the move, queues of people compelled to leave their vehicles on the Ukrainian side of the border and to cross over to Russia on foot, formed at the checkpoints."

Cars moving from Crimea to Ukraine passed border formalities at the Russian checkpoints without any impediments, but inspection at checkpoints on the Ukrainian side of the border was highly impeded.

Ukraine stopped cargo and passenger train movements to Crimea from Saturday morning, Crimean Railway head Andrei Karakulkiny had said.

Russia took over Crimea in March after an overwhelming majority of the residents on the peninsula voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, following a crisis sparked by the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

--IANS/TASS

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