“We made a decision to make Crimea a special economic zone,” Medvedev said. “Today the state duma began reviewing this legislation.”

"Our aim is to make the peninsula as attractive as possible to investors, so that it can generate sufficient income for its own development," Medvedev added.

Medvedev said pensions for Crimeans would be raised gradually over the coming months until they reach the national level, and promised upgrades of the peninsula's roads and other infrastructure.

The Prime Minister described the development of Crimea as a national priority and compared the importance of the region to that of the Far East.

Earlier, Medvedev drew parallels between Crimea and another Russian region that’s geographically separated from Russia. He said Crimea could acquire the status of a special economic zone similar to the one enjoyed by Russia's western Kaliningrad region.

"As well as in the case of Kaliningrad, a specific law is required which allows tax privileges to all large investors, ready to put money into the region," Medvedev said last week.

Speaking in Simferopol on Monday, the Prime Minister said Crimea was ready to be integrated into the Russian monetary system.

“For fully fledged integration of Crimea into the ruble zone, Russian currency has been delivered in sufficient volumes to the peninsular,” he announced.

Medvedev said the ruble has already started circulating in the region.

“Now, our main task is to expand the Russian banking network to Crimea,” he added.

RA/NJF