Crimea Russia's part
President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, in a historic redrawing of Russia's borders after he declared that the Black Sea region has always been "in the hearts" of his countrymen.
In a fast-moving sequence of events following Crimea's controversial secession referendum on Sunday, the Kremlin said Crimea was now considered part of Russia and no longer Ukrainian territory, shrugging off strong international objections.
"In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia," Putin said in an emotional address broadcast on television.
The move, which came sooner than expected, risks plunging the West and Russia into a crisis not seen since the Cold War and sent shock waves through the new authorities in Ukraine who took over after the ousting of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych last month.
The move drew immediate response from the West.
US President Barack Obama called for a G7 summit next week to discuss the escalating showdown with Russia over Crimea.
The White House said Obama asked fellow leaders of the grouping -- minus G8 member Russia -- to join him in the Hague, where he will be attending a nuclear security summit, to discuss the crisis and how to support Ukraine.
Britain warned that the West and Russia faced a changed relationship in the coming years, as London suspended all bilateral military cooperation and halted arms exports to Russia.
French President Francois Hollande called for a "strong and coordinated" EU response to Russia's 'illegal annexation' of Crimean peninsula, which he said Paris did not recognise. Germany also called the move a violation of international law.
"The next European Council on March 20 and 21 must provide the opportunity for a strong and coordinated European response to the new step that has just been taken," he said in a statement.
Putin signed the treaty with Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov and other Crimean leaders at a ceremony at the Kremlin attended by both houses of parliament.
Lawmakers, who still have to formally ratify the treaty, broke into applause and cheers after the signing.
"The Republic of Crimea is considered to be part of Russia from the date of the signing of the treaty," the Kremlin said.
The signing -- which had not been flagged in advance -- came after Putin gave a fiery address at the Kremlin seeking to justify the incorporation of Crimea into Russia.
His defiant speech brushed off US and EU sanctions touted as the most severe against Moscow since the end of the Cold War.
Putin said Crimea belonged with Russia and he slammed the Soviet-era decision by Nikita Khrushchev to gift the peninsula to the Ukrainian Soviet republic as riddled with "violations".
"When Crimea suddenly ended up being in another state, Russia felt it was not simply robbed --- it was plundered," he said.
He added that Russia was tired of being pushed into a corner by the West and said it had been repeatedly deceived on issues like Nato, missile defence and visa-free travel.
"On Ukraine the West crossed a line," he said, warning it against provoking Russia. "They are trying to drive us into a corner."
But he sought to play down fears that Russia was seeking to also incorporate parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
"We don't want the break-up of Ukraine. We do not need it," Putin said.
The seizure of Crimea by pro-Russian forces following the ouster of Yanukovych last month has been condemned around the world.
But the prospect of Russia's international isolation did not deter an increasingly defiant Putin who based the justification for the de-facto annexation of Crimea on the region's weekend referendum where almost 97 percent voted to split from Ukraine.
After the deal signing, patriotic fervour has soared in Russia, with tens of thousands expected to hold a state-supported rally in Moscow with the slogan "We are together".
Independent pollster Levada Center said Monday that two thirds of Russians -- 63 percent -- believe Russia is a "great nation," double the figure of 31 percent in March 1999.
Putin's approval ratings have jumped to 72 percent on the back of the success of the Sochi Winter Olympics and his decision to send troops to Crimea following Yanukovych's February 22 ouster.
US President Barack Obama on Monday slapped sanctions on seven Russian officials and four Ukrainians accused of usurping Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Yanukovych.
"If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions," Obama warned.
The European Union unveiled travel bans and asset freezes against 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, including Vice Admiral Alexander Vitko, the head of Russia's Black Sea fleet.
Diplomats in Brussels said EU and Ukrainian leaders would on Friday sign the political portion of a landmark pact whose rejection by Yanukovych in November sparked the protests that led to his fall.
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