REPORT: Russian lower house of parliament approves treaty annexing Crimea

Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a treaty to annex Crimea from Ukraine, taking the Black Sea peninsula a step closer to joining the Russian Federation.          

The Federation Council upper house will hold a similar vote on Friday, completing ratification of a treaty that was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

This comes as Ukrainian border guards in Crimea, under the control of Russia's military, have started redeploying to regions on the mainland, a senior official said on Thursday.

"We have started the gradual redeployment of our servicemen to the territory of Kherson and Mikolayiv regions," Pavlo Shysholin, deputy head of the state border guard service, told a news conference.

Shysholin also said about 1,000 civilians had so far left the peninsula.

Meanwhile, Russia will boost its military presence in Crimea to protect against external threats, state news agency Itar-Tass quoted  Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov as saying on Thursday as lawmakers prepared to approve Russian annexation of the region.

"It will be necessary to develop the military infrastructure on the peninsula so that Crimea would be a worthy representative of the Russian Federation and be protected against all possible encroachments," he said.

Russia faces further sanctions from the European Union on Thursday over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as tensions in the region remained high despite the release of a Ukrainian naval commander.

In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G-8 forum of leading economies had been suspended indefinitely. Russia holds the presidency of the G-8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a summit in Sochi in June.

"So long as there aren't the political circumstances, like now, for an important format like the G-8, then there is no G-8," Merkel said. "Neither the summit, nor the format."

On another note, the commander of Ukraine's navy was freed after being held by Russian forces and local Crimean militia at the navy's headquarters.
     
Rear Adm. Sergei Haiduk and an unspecified number of civilians were held for hours after the navy's base in Sevastopol was stormed Wednesday. Early reports said the storming was conducted by a self-described local defense force, but Thursday's statement by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, which confirmed the release, said Russian forces were involved.

Moscow formally annexed Crimea earlier this week in the wake of the poll. The Black Sea peninsula had been part of Russia for centuries until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine.

Russian forces effectively took control of Crimea some two weeks ago in the wake of the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, after months of protests and sporadic violence. The crisis erupted late last year after Yanukovych backed out of an association deal with the EU in favor of a promised $15 billion bailout from Russia. That angered Ukrainians from pro-European central and western regions.

Pentagon:

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel received assurances on Thursday from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, that Russian troops along Ukraine's eastern border had no plans to enter the country, a Pentagon spokesman said.
   
Rear Admiral John Kirby said Hagel spoke to Shoigu for nearly an hour by telephone and was "clear and firm" in telling him that with Russian forces in control in Crimea, they were responsible for any incidents there.
   
During the call, Hagel asked for an explanation of why Russia was deploying forces along Ukraine's eastern and southern borders and was assured by Shoigu they were conducting exercises and had no intention of crossing the border, the spokesman said.
 

Merkel said EU leaders would increase those "level 2" sanctions against Russia when they meet later Thursday in Brussels to widen the list of those whose assets are being frozen and who are banned from traveling.

She also reiterated that if things worsen, the EU is prepared to move to "level 3" measures, which would include economic sanctions.

"The European Council will make it clear today and tomorrow that with a further deterioration of the situation we are always prepared to take level 3 measures, and those will without a doubt include economic sanctions," she said.

Obama:

President Barack Obama announced further sanctions against prominent Russians and cleared the way for possible sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy in response to Moscow's seizure of the Crimea region from Ukraine.
   
The U.S. president, speaking at the White House, also said  Russia's threats to southern and eastern Ukraine posed a serious risk of escalation of the crisis in the region.

Lavrov:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Crimea's absorption into Russia will not be reconsidered and must not be questioned, the ministry said.
   
In a telephone call, Lavrov "stressed that the decision on the reunification of Crimea with Russia, which reflects the will of an absolute majority of (Crimea's) residents, is not subject to review and should be respected", the ministry said.

Earlier, Lavrov told visiting  U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon that Moscow was deeply concerned over "numerous violations of the rights of Russian-speakers in eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine," his ministry said.
   
Lavrov also told Ban that "radical groups" were whipping up tension in Ukraine "with the connivance of the Kiev authorities", the ministry said in a statement.


UN chief Ban:

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said tension between Ukraine and Russia poses "great risks to the countries themselves and beyond" and urged restraint by all parties in a crisis that could spin out of control.
   
"I have emphasized that all parties (should) refrain from any hasty or provocative actions that could further exacerbate the already very tense and very volatile situation," Ban said after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
    
Ban is on a visit to both nations to encourage all parties involved in the crisis over Ukraine and its Crimea region, which Western nations say Russia has illegally annexed, to find a peaceful solution.

IMF:

The International Monetary Fund extended talks IMF officials are holding with Ukraine on an aid package until March 25, saying progress had been made but more time was needed to wrap up the mission.
   
"The mission has made significant progress in discussing with the Ukrainian authorities the policies to put the country on the path of economic reform, sound governance, and sustainable growth while protecting the poor and vulnerable," IMF mission chief Nikolay Gueorguiev said in a statement.
   
"The authorities' comprehensive reform program covers a wide range of issues and additional work needs to be completed to advance program discussions."

US sanctions:

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said that issuing sanctions lists against Russia was unacceptable after the United States expanded its sanctions on Russians in response to the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

"Finding some of the names on this list causes nothing but an extreme embarrassment, but no matter what the names are, finding any lists is unacceptable for us," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
   
"In any case, Russia's reaction to these lists will be based on a reciprocity principle and will not be long in coming," he added.

On Thursday, the United States expanded its sanctions on Russians in response to the annexation of Crimea to include 20 more people, some of whom are close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Obama administration official said.
   
It also imposed sanctions on the Russian bank Bank Rossiya, which has $10 billion in assets, the official said. The bank, which is used by many senior Russian government officials, will be "frozen out of the dollar," the official said.
   
Obama signed an executive order giving the U.S. government wider authority to take action against the Russian financial services sector, energy, mining, engineering and defense sectors, the official said.

Russian sanctions:

Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions on nine U.S. officials and lawmakers on Thursday as tension over Moscow's annexation of Crimea mounted, warning the West it would hit back over "every hostile thrust".
   
Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes and senators John McCain, John Boehner, Harry Reid and Mary Landrieu were among the Americans barred from Russia, the Foreign Ministry said.