Apple says to ‘carefully’ examine Crimea map controversy
Not too popular in Ukraine at the moment© AFP Josh Edelson
Apple said on Saturday it was going to “carefully” examine its controversial decision to show the annexed Crimea peninsula as part of Russia on maps and weather apps which has caused an outcry in Ukraine.
Russian lawmakers said on Wednesday that Apple had complied with a demand from Moscow for Crimea to appear as Russian territory on its maps and weather apps.
“We are going to study more carefully the question of designating disputed borders in our services,” Apple said in a written statement to AFP, adding it could “adjust its approach”.
Moscow has been putting pressure on foreign companies to recognise the Black Sea peninsula as an integral part of its territory.
Crimea and its largest cities Sevastopol and Simferopol have since Wednesday been displayed as Russian territory on Apple’s apps when used in Russia. When seen from other countries they appear as undefined.
In the statement, Apple said it had not made any changes to the map of Crimea outside Russia on its Plans app.
But current Russian legislation demanded that “we update the plan for Russian users”, it said.
“We are looking at international legal norms as well as applicable US and local laws before taking any decision on possible changes of the Plans app. We will make those changes if they are required.”
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned by most of the global community.
The seizure of the peninsula helped spark a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Ukraine lashed out at Apple this week, saying the US tech giant did not “give a damn” about the pain of the Ukrainian people.
“@Apple, please, please, stick to high-tech and entertainment. Global politics is not your strong side,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko wrote on Twitter.
Several Russian media published headlines Thursday saying that “Apple recognises that the Crimea is Russian”.
US internet giant Google, for its part, does not attach any country name for Crimean cities in its geolocation services.