MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - The subsidiary of McDonald's operating in Ukraine has temporarily closed its fast food restaurants in Crimea, citing "manufacturing reasons," the company said Thursday.

"Due to manufacturing reasons, not dependent on McDonald's, the work of restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta has been temporarily halted," McDonald's Ukraine Ltd. said in a statement.

The company noted it hoped to resume work as soon as possible, adding that it had offered its Crimean employees work at its restaurants in Ukraine at their current salary levels. McDonald's also offered to cover relocation expenses for the employees and their families, as well as provide accommodation for the first three months.

McDonald's opened its first outlet in the Ukrainian capital in 1997, the country becoming the 102nd with a restaurant of the fast food chain.

The company was founded in 1940 by the McDonald brothers and has become the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving over 70 million customers daily in 119 countries.