President Vlad Putin signed a treaty that officially incorporates Ukranian Crimea into Russia and called out Ukraine for abusing Russians living in the territories.
As Al Jazeera reports,
“The agreement has to be endorsed by Russia’s Constitutional Court and ratified by both houses of parliament to take effect. Those steps are considered mere formalities.
“In our hearts we know Crimea has always been an inalienable part of Russia,” Putin said in a televised address to parliament.
He said Crimea’s referendum vote Sunday to secede from Ukraine and join Russia was in line with international law, reflecting the region’s right to self-determination.
To back up his case, Putin pointed to Kosovo’s 2008 independence move from Serbia — which was supported by the West and opposed by Russia — and said that Crimea’s split from Ukraine repeats Ukraine’s own secession from the Soviet Union in 1991.”
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