REPORT: Ukraine does not recognize pact making Crimea Russian-ministry

Ukraine does not recognise a treaty signed in Moscow on Tuesday making its Crimean peninsula a part of Russia, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.
   
"The signing of the so-called agreement on Crimea joining the Russian Federation and the corresponding address by the Russian president has nothing in common with law or democracy or common sense," ministry spokesman Evhen Perebynis said on Twitter.
   
"Putin's address very clearly demonstrates just how real the threat is that Russia poses to international security and international security," he said.

Earlier, President Vladimir Putin and two Crimean leaders signed a treaty on making the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula a part of Russia.
   
The signing in the Kremlin came two days after Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum condemned by the Ukrainian government, the United States and the European Union as illegitimate.
   
Crimea's accession still requires the approval of Russian parliament, parliamentary officials say.

President Vladimir Putin said that Western attempts to frighten Russia with sanctions over its takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region would be viewed as an act of aggression, and that Moscow would retaliate.        

President Putin said Russia would never seek to start a confrontation with the West but that it will defend its own interests.           

"We must decide for ourselves whether we are ready to stand up for our national interests. Or just carry on giving them away forever?" he asked a joint session of parliament.         

Russia does not want Ukraine to be split apart, Putin said, trying to assure Kiev and the West that he does not want to seize more of Ukraine after approving plans to make Crimea part of Russia.    
     
President Putin also accused the United States on Monday of being guided in its foreign policy not by international law but by the "rule of the gun."

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the "so-called" authorities in Ukraine, saying they had stolen power in a coup and had opened the way for "extremists" who would stop at nothing to determine the future of Ukraine.   

"Those who were behind recent events, they were ... preparing a coup d'etat, another one. They were planning to seize power, stopping at nothing. Terror, murder, pogroms were used," he told a joint session of parliament, calling them "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites".   

"It is primarily they how are deciding how Ukraine lives today. The so-called Ukrainian authorities introduced a scandalous law on the revision of the language policy, which directly violated the rights of the national minorities."

He also said that relations with Ukraine and its people will always be a top priority for Russia.

"Relations with Ukraine and the brotherly Ukrainian people have always been, remain, and will always be most important and crucial for us, without any exaggeration," Putin said in an address on bringing Ukraine's Crimea region into Russia.

Putin said Crimea would have three equal languages; Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar.

"It will be right if in Crimea, and I know that Crimeans are supporting this, there will be three equal languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Crimea Tatar," he told a joint session of parliament.
   
"In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia. This commitment, based on truth and justice, was firm, was passed from generation to generation."

He also stated that a referendum in which Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia was held "in full accordance with democratic procedures and international legal norms".
   
"The Crimean issue has a vital importance, a historic importance for all of us," Putin said.

President Vladimir Putin has approved a draft treaty to make Crimea part of Russia, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, confirming that Russia plans to make the southern Ukrainian region part of Russia.

Ukrainian serviceman killed in attack on base

A Ukrainian serviceman was killed on Tuesday at a Ukrainian base that came under attack in Crimea's main town Simferopol, a military spokesman said.
   
Vladislav Seleznyov, speaking to Reuters by telephone from Crimea, said one serviceman at the base had died of his wounds. A second man, a captain, was injured.
   
Seleznyov said it was unclear who had staged the assault, but described the attackers, as "unknown forces, fully equipped and their faces covered".
 

Crimea is adopting the Russian rouble as its official currency  and will drop the Ukrainian hryvnia in April, Russian news agency RIA quoted a senior official in the government of the region, which has voted to become part of Russia, as saying.
   
Crimean authorities had earlier said the hryvnia would to remain an official currency until 2016.
   
"Unfortunately, I have to say that parallel circulation of the rouble and the hryvnia will not work out. We are witching to the rouble zone," state-run RIA cited Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev as saying.

Positions

The Obama administration on Tuesday vowed to take further action against those supporting Russia's move to annex Ukraine's Crimea region, including expanding sanctions, the White House said.
   
White House spokesman Jay Carney, speaking to reporters, said the United States was preparing to add to those targeted for asset freezes and travel bans under a sanctions order announced on Monday.
  
"More is coming," Carney said, adding that he did know when the action would be taken. "Work is being done to make further designations" under the sanctions.

The United States condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempt on Tuesday to formally annex Ukraine's Crimea region and would not recognize Russia's move, the White House said.
  
This comes after French President Francois Hollande condemned the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign a treaty integrating Crimea into Russia, saying Europe needs to provide a "strong" response.
  
"I condemn this decision. France does not recognise either the results of the referendum ... or the attachment of this Ukrainian region to Russia," Hollande said in a statement.
   
"The next European Council meeting on March 20-21 must provide the opportunity for a strong and coordinated European response to the hurdle that has just been jumped."

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called Russia's intervention in Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula a land grab and underscored Washington's commitment to defending the security of its NATO allies on Russia's borders.
   
Speaking at a news conference in Warsaw after meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Biden said collective security guarantees remained the bedrock of NATO, and that Washington will take additional steps to strengthen the alliance in the future.
   
He said the United States stood by its commitment to complete a missile defence system in Poland by 2018. Biden said Russia will face additional measures from the European Union and United States if it goes ahead with a plan to make Crimea part of its territory.

This as British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that President Vladimir Putin has chosen the path to Russia's isolation by moving to annex Ukraine's Crimea region.
   
"It was regrettable to hear President Putin today choosing the route of isolation, denying the citizens of his own country, and of Crimea, partnership with the international community and full membership of a range of international organizations," Hague said in a statement to parliament.
   
Hague also said there was grave danger that a provocation elsewhere in Ukraine could be used as a pretext for a further military escalation.

He said that it was highly likely that other G8 countries would now want to meet without Russia.

Earlier, Hague insisted Crimea is still part of Ukraine after Moscow signed a decree recognizing it as a sovereign state.

Hague said Russia was "paving the way" for the annexation of Crimea in violation of international law.

For its part, Japan imposed some modest sanctions on Russia for its recognition of Crimea as an independent state, suspending talks on relaxing visa requirements between the two countries and talks on investment, space exploration and military cooperation.    

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement that Japan does not recognize the outcome of Crimea's referendum to split from Ukraine, saying it violates the Ukrainian constitution.    

"It is regretful that Russia's recognition of the independence of Crimea interferes with the integrity of Ukraine's sovereignty and territory," Kishida told reporters. "We cannot overlook Russia's attempt to change the status quo by force."

REUTERS


To watch Rita Khoury's report, please click on the video above.