Putin signs Crimea's admission to RF, mentions Kosovo

Source: ITAR-TASS, Voice of Russia

MOSCOW -- Russia and Crimea have signed a treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, Voice of Russia has reported.

(Beta/AP)

Crimea and Sevastopol are joining Russia as two separate regions, President Vladimir Putin said.
The treaty was signed after Putin addressed the Russian parliament in Moscow on Tuesday.

In his address, Putin recalled that Sunday's referendum in Crimea saw a turnout of 82 percent and while more than 96 percent of those voted in favor of joining Russia.

It would have been "a betrayal to leave Crimea in trouble, and the U.S. has no right to decide the fate of Crimea," he stated, Itar-Tass reported.
He also "stressed that Russia has vital interests in Crimea."

Russia does not intend to take other regions after Crimea, and respects Ukraine's territorial integrity, Putin also said, according to the Russian news agency.

He noted that his country "welcomes cooperation with NATO - but does not want it at its borders."

Putin thanked the Chinese leadership "for considering the Ukrainian situation in its full historical complexity."

"The U.S. says that Kosovo precedent is a unique case, so why do they think that Crimea's situation is not unique?," Putin asked, and concluded: "These are not double standards, this is outright cynicism."

As for the new, pro-Western authorities in power in Kiev since the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, Putin said there is now "no legitimate political leadership in Ukraine, there is no one to deal with."

He said that while he understood that "people who went to Maidan with peaceful slogans protested against corruption and poverty," what then transpired was "nationalists executing a coup, trying to revise the language policy, which would have undermined the rights of minorities."

"The Russian-speaking population in Ukraine faced constant humiliation," the president stressed, according to Itar-Tass.