Crimea parliament asks to join Russia
Crimea parliament asks to join Russia
MPs in Crimea have asked Moscow to allow the southern Ukrainian region to become part of the Russian Federation.
Parliament said if its request was granted, Crimean citizens could give their view in a referendum on 16 March.
A government minister in Kiev said it would be unconstitutional for Crimea to join Russia.
Crimea, a region whose population is mostly ethnic Russian, has been at the centre of tensions following the fall of Ukraine's pro-Moscow president.
Pro-Russian and Russian forces have been in de facto control of the peninsula, which already enjoys a degree of autonomy from Kiev, for several days.
The announcement from Crimea's parliament comes as EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss how to respond to Russia's troop deployment on Ukrainian soil.
Formal request
The Crimean parliament resolved "to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation".
In a statement on its website, parliament said it had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin "to start the procedure" of formally allowing Crimea to join the Russian Federation.
The Kremlin said President Putin was aware of developments in the Crimean parliament, but no response has yet been made public.
If Russia agrees to Crimea's request, the Crimean people will be asked two questions in the 16 March referendum, the statement says
Are you in favour of reuniting Crimea with Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation?
Are you in favour of retaining the status of Crimea as part of Ukraine?
Ukraine's interim Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta, speaking in Kiev soon after the announcement, said: "We're not working out what to do if Crimea joins the Russian Federation because we believe it's unconstitutional."
According to Article 73 of the Ukraine constitution, "alterations to the territory of Ukraine shall be resolved exclusively by an all-Ukrainian referendum".
But Crimea's deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliev, said Crimea viewed the new interim authorities in Kiev as illegitimate, and as a consequence their referendum would be legal.
The move by Crimea's parliament will significantly increase tensions as Western diplomats try to draw political leaders in Ukraine and Russia into negotiations to prevent a full Russian invasion of Ukraine, the BBC's Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.
'Tough talks'
Ukraine's new interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk met the 28 EU leaders before their emergency meeting in Brussels.
Kiev, he said, was seeking a political solution, so "it depends on Russia, whether Russia is ready to fix this conflict".
Some EU members, particularly those from Eastern Europe, have been calling for tough sanctions on Russia, while others - led by Germany - prefer to go down the route of mediation.
Both US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are in Rome for a long-planned conference on Libya, but it is thought they may continue their discussions on Ukraine.
The two met in Paris on Wednesday, along with some EU leaders, in talks that Kerry described as "tough".
In other developments
Tim Guildimann of the OSCE, which has military observers in Ukraine, says its "a miracle" that no blood has been shed so far in Crimea
US-based Russia Today presenter Liz Wahl resigns on air in protest at Moscow's involvement in Ukraine, two days after another RT presenter criticised Russia on her programme
The Ukrainian flag is again flying over the regional government in the eastern city of Donetsk after the removal of pro-Russia demonstrators from the building
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announces plans to simplify procedures for Russian-speakers in foreign countries to gain Russian citizenship
Pro-Russian gunmen moved in to seize strategic sites in Crimea after Viktor Yanukovych was ousted as the president of Ukraine following months of protests in Kiev.
The demonstrations - by Ukrainians seeking closer ties with the West - turned violent in mid-February with more than 90 people killed in clashes with police.