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| Crimea 'has always been part of Russia', Vladimir Putin says as Russia prepares to annex peninsula following referendum | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| President Vladimir Putin has taken the first legislative steps towards annexing Crimea, declaring that the peninsula “has always been an inseparable part of Russia”. | |
| Speaking in a televised address to both houses of parliament, Mr Putin told representatives from Crimea’s new pro-Russian leadership that their referendum was held “in full accordance with international law”. | |
| Mr Putin said that “in the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia”. | |
| He said Russia would have been “betraying” the people of Crimea if it had not gone in to help in the wake of the deposition of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, but added that Russia had never exceeded the agreed number of troops it was allowed to have in the peninsula under international law. | |
| On concerns of further violations of Ukrainian territory, Mr Putin said that no attempts would be made to divide the country further once Crimea was part of Russia. | |
| “Don't believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea,” he said. “We do not want a partition of Ukraine, we do not need this.” | |
| Addressing the West, Mr Putin said it had tried to cheat Russia by turning Sevastopol into a Nato base “on Russia's border”. | |
| And speaking to the people of the US, he asked what made the Crimean referendum so different from the American Declaration of Independence. | |
| Local media in Russia earlier reported that, at the end of the speech, Mr Putin and the speaker of the Crimean parliament are expected to sign through a treaty on the region’s “entry into the Russian federation”. | |
| The Russian leader has already approved the draft bill, and yesterday paved the way for Crimea’s annexation by formally recognising it as an independent state. | The Russian leader has already approved the draft bill, and yesterday paved the way for Crimea’s annexation by formally recognising it as an independent state. |
| This flurry of formal steps, which now seem certain to culminate with the peninsula’s annexation, come after a referendum on Sunday which officials claim saw 97 per cent of Crimean voters backing the split from Ukraine. | This flurry of formal steps, which now seem certain to culminate with the peninsula’s annexation, come after a referendum on Sunday which officials claim saw 97 per cent of Crimean voters backing the split from Ukraine. |
| That process has been condemned as illegal by the EU and US, which say voters were subjected to pressures under a military occupation and presented with an inherently unbalanced ballot. | That process has been condemned as illegal by the EU and US, which say voters were subjected to pressures under a military occupation and presented with an inherently unbalanced ballot. |
| Mr Putin claimed that today that the referendum received a turnout of more than 82 per cent - and that this showed that even the majority of the Crimean Tatar population favoured a move to Russia. | |
| This was despite comments reported over the past weeks from representatives of the ethnic group who said they feared repression under Russian rule. Mr Putin said today that such treatment was in the country's past. | |
| Western countries have now imposed sanctions but, amounting to financial restrictions for some 22 individuals, they have been condemned as “pathetic” by senior politicians. | Western countries have now imposed sanctions but, amounting to financial restrictions for some 22 individuals, they have been condemned as “pathetic” by senior politicians. |
| The Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind, who chairs the Intelligence and Security Committee, told the BBC: “All that the international community has done so far is implement visa sanctions and asset freezes on 22 or 23 individuals - that is a pathetic response.” | The Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind, who chairs the Intelligence and Security Committee, told the BBC: “All that the international community has done so far is implement visa sanctions and asset freezes on 22 or 23 individuals - that is a pathetic response.” |
| Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. | Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea's majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. |
| Ukraine's turmoil, which began in November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become Europe's most severe security crisis in years. | Ukraine's turmoil, which began in November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become Europe's most severe security crisis in years. |