Monday, March 17, 2014

Putin signs decree on 'Recognition of Crimea'

Putin signs decree on 'Recognition of Crimea'
Photo: RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to recognize Ukraine's breakaway region of Crimea as an independent state, the Kremlin press service said on Monday. Russia also said that it recognizes Sevastopol, a Crimean port that houses the Russian Black Sea fleet base, a city with a "special autonomous status" within the Republic of Crimea.

The decree comes into force immediately after being signed. Crimea, the autonomous republic within Ukraine, has refused to recognize as legitimate the new leadership in the country.
A referendum held Sunday in the largely Russian-ethnic autonomous republic saw over 96 percent of voters support reunification with Russia.
On Tuesday, Putin will address an assembly of both houses of parliament, as well as heads of regions and representatives of public organizations about Crimeaa??s reunification request.
The State Duma is the lower chamber of the Russian parliament
Leaders of all four factions in Russia's Lower House have jointly submitted a draft statement on Ukraine’s breakaway region of Crimea on Monday evening. The document welcomes the results of Sunday’s referendum, in which 96.7 percent of voters in the southern Ukrainian region backed reunification with Russia after 60 years as part of Ukraine.
State Duma lawmakers undertake to contribute to the social and economic development of Crimea and the prosperity of its population, to maintain peace, calm and conciliation within its borders during the transition period.
The lawmakers also vowed to respect the legitimate rights of all Crimean residents, regardless of their citizenship, ethnicity, language and religion.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will address an assembly of both houses of parliament, as well as heads of regions and representatives of public organizations about Crimea’s reunification request.
The referendum in the autonomous republic within Ukraine, which was held on Sunday amid an ongoing political crisis in the country, is at the center of the most serious geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.
The Crimean parliament declared the region’s independence from Ukraine Monday and formally applied to become part of Russia after a referendum on Sunday showed overwhelming support for Moscow. With all ballots counted, 96.7 percent of voters in the southern Ukrainian region had backed reunification with Russia after 60 years as part of Ukraine.
The Black Sea peninsula, with an ethnic Russian majority, has sent a formal request to Moscow to join Russia while preserving its status as a republic, the parliament said in a statement.
Crimea's parliament declared independence last week ahead of the referendum, promising that if the measure passed the de facto independent government would immediately request annexation by Russia.
"The republic of Crimea appeals to the United Nations and to all countries of the world to recognize it as an independent state, established by the Crimean people," a document approved Monday by the parliament declared.
A Crimean parliamentary delegation is due to arrive in Moscow on Monday to discuss the procedures required for Crimea to become part of Russia.
In the latest sign of Crimea’s growing attempts to align with Russia, its parliament voted Monday to change the clock in the republic to Moscow time on March 30 and introduce the Russian rouble as an official currency and abandon Ukraine’s hryvnia by January 2016.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday called on the international community to recognize Crimea's right to determine its own path.
The latest updates from Crimea’s election authority show that 96.77% of the voters who cast their ballots in Sunday’s referendum supported Crimea’s reunification with Russia. "The number of the votes cast in the Crimea-wide referendum in favor of reunification with Russia as an entity of the Russian Federation is 1.233,002 million, or 96.77 percent," Crimea’s chief election commissioner Mikhail Malyshev, told reporters, summing up the outcome of Sunday’s vote.
96.77% of Crimeans voted to re-unite with Russia – Crimean election chief
The turnout was 1.274,096 voters or 83.1 percent of Crimea’s eligible voters, he said, adding that the figure did not include the city of Sevastopol.
Those who voted for Crimea to enjoy a broader autonomy within the framework of Ukraine total 31,997 or 2.51%, Malyshev said.
Less than one percentage of the ballots – 9,097 or 0.72% - were declared invalid.
The Central Elections Commission signed the final protocol at 6:50 am local time (8:50 am Moscow Time) on March 17.
"We were receiving protocols from the 27 district commissions all night long. The last one came at around 6:00 am [8:00 am Moscow Time]. After that, our commission compiled the final protocol," Malyshev said.
All of the commission’s members put their signatures under the document, he said.
The Republic of Crimea has asked the United Nations and all world countries to recognize the independent country that’s been formed by the peoples of Crimea. This comes in a resolution that the Supreme Council of Crimea adopted earlier today.
According to the resolution, the Republic of Crimea will build relationships with other countries on the basis of equality, peace, good-neighbourliness, and other universally recognized principles of political, economic and cultural cooperation between nations.
at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)