The European Union and NATO should stop "politicking" around Crimea and need to listen to the peninsula's residents instead, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Axar.az reports citing TASS that, on March 17 EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the EU will continue the policy of not recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.

"We would want the EU and NATO to stop politicking and to start listening to Crimeans. It is time to recognize the democratic choice made by people of Crimea and Sevastopol, and to note positive changes in their lives as part of Russia, as this was already done by multiple unbiased representatives of social and political circles of Western countries," the foreign ministry said.

According to the foreign ministry, the EU and NATO continue making statements about the deteriorating human rights situation on the peninsula while ignoring the fact that "Russian Crimea is becoming stronger as a unique 'melting pot' of cultures and traditions of different peoples." "Federal and regional authorities are consistently enforcing constitutional cultural, language and other rights of minorities, including Crimean Tatrs and ethnic Ukrainians. Since Russia's reunification with Crimea, Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages became official languages in Crimea," the foreign ministry added.

The foreign ministry said that "the EU and NATO turn a blind eye to the actions of the Kiev regime and Ukrainian nationalists who block water and electricity supply to Crimea." "Visa discrimination" of Crimeans continues even though it violates not only key international standards in the sphere of human rights, but also several fundamental documents of the European Union, the ministry noted.