Vladimir Putin recognizes the sovereignty of Crimea

Vladimir Putin here on March 17 at a ceremony for Russian Paralympic athletes recognized the sovereignty of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday, March 17 recognizing the sovereignty of the Crimea , the first step towards the unification of the Ukrainian peninsula to Russia , announced the Russian presidency .

Russia, " given the will of the people expressed during the Crimean referendum on March 16 ," decided "to recognize the Republic of Crimea as a sovereign and independent State where the city of Sevastopol has a special status ," according to the text Decree issued by the Kremlin.

This recognition of the independence of the Crimea as a snub to European and American sanctions announced in the day, is a necessary step before a real attachment to Russia, which must be an agreement between two states independent.

Read the report : Crimea starts rapprochement with Russia

The referendum held Sunday in the Crimea led to a final result : 96.8 % of voters were in favor of separation from the rest of Crimea Ukraine and its annexation to Russia. Russian side, this will be addressed Friday by the Duma, the lower house of Parliament. A delegation of Crimea, headed by the separatist premier Sergei Axionov , visited Moscow on Monday .

Read also: What would a Russian Crimea?


In a residential area of Sevastopol Russian flags in the windows of a building. They were distributed free in the streets closer to election day .
Credits: Maria Turchenkova for " Le Monde" facebook twitter google + linkedin pinterest
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