ALUSHTA, June 11. /TASS/. It is high time that the West face facts on Crimea, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday at the first international media forum dubbed "Open Crimea: with one's own eyes".

"I do not think an erroneous image of Crimea remains," she said replying to a question about the West’s perception. "Efforts are still being carried out at propping up those issues, which the West points to as essential, please note in particular 'points to' - extolling them as their focal point, and not those which do exist."

The diplomat noted there is "an obsessive drive to avoid facing facts that problems are being resolved, and to avoid seeing that these dynamics are absolutely positive," she said, adding that major achievements, which are not a common phenomenon in the world, had been made within a short time period.

"The West’s persistency in turning a blind eye to Crimea is astounding," she stressed. "It is high time to open up one's eyes, and that is why events like these are organized."

The two-day forum will be devoted to Crimea’s development in historic, geopolitical, international, legal, information and cultural spheres. The event will feature activists and journalists from Armenia, Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Italy, India, Cuba, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, and other countries.