Crimea will lose its Radisson hotel due to U.S. sanctions on the Russia-annexed region, news agency RBC reported Thursday.
The Radisson Resort and Spa in Alushta, a tourist town on Crimea's sun-drenched south coast, took its last guests at the start of February, the agency said. As of March 25, the complex will be managed by the building's owner and staffed with ex-Radisson employees.
Ilmaz Ildirimlar, vice president of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, the U.S. company that operates the Radisson brand, said, "We are truly sorry that, due to sanctions, Radisson is forced to quit … Alushta and the hotel, into which over the course of seven years we have invested not only our professional qualities, but our hearts," RBC reported.
The U.S. and EU sanctioned investments in Crimea last year over Russia's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine.
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