PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin hailed Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in his new year speech as an achievement that will “forever remain a landmark in our nation’s history.”

His reference to Crimea’s “return home” will strike a chord with Russians across the political spectrum who saw Ukraine’s control over the Black Sea region as a historic injustice.

Crimea became part of Ukraine when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchov gave the peninsula to his native republic in 1954.

That mattered little until the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 and Crimea ended up in an independent Ukraine.

The Russian president reminded his US counterpart of this year’s forthcoming 70th anniversary of the Allies’ victory in World War II.

He said that this should serve as a reminder of “the responsibility that Russia and the US bear for maintaining peace and international stability.”

Moscow wants bilateral relations to advance, but only as long as there is “equality and mutual respect.”