© Ruptly
Four Americans have visited Crimea,
taking on the roles of citizen diplomats and trying to go beyond the mainstream narrative being spread in the West.
The quartet, representing the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), an NGO established back in the 1980s to try to reduce tensions between the two superpowers, went to Crimea on a private visit. The CCI had previously sent a similar group to the Russian region in 2016.
The Americans started their three-day tour by visiting an orphanage in Simferopol, Crimea's regional capital. There they met with officials from Crimea's Parliament before going to Yalta and Sevastopol.
"My impression is that we're not hearing a correct story, so when I learned we're going to Crimea, I was happy,"Glenn Reynolds, a retired anesthetist, told Ruptly news agency.
"In my small group in my small town, people don't think much [about Crimea]; they listen to what official media tell them to think," he said, adding, "I'm here to make a small difference."
"I'm following events in Crimea for a long time," Sylvia Demarest, a Texas-based lawyer, told Russian media after meeting with Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the local parliament. "And I can say that
I agree with what was happening there, and share Crimean people's point of view."
Comment: See also: