That's where we are in
the crisis in Ukraine after lawmakers in the Crimean region voted
Thursday in favor of leaving the country for Russia and putting it to a
vote before residents in 10 days.
It's an act that drew
condemnation from Ukraine's interim Prime Minister, who called the
effort to hold such a referendum "an illegitimate decision."
"Crimea was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine," Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
It's not clear how easily the region could split off if the referendum endorses the move.
The developments came as
Yatsenyuk joined in emergency talks in Brussels, Belgium, called by
leaders of the European Union who support the Kiev government and want
to de-escalate the crisis.
At the same time, the EU
and the United States have announced plans to freeze the assets of
Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted as Ukraine's President after months of
protests that culminated in bloody street clashes in February that left
dozens dead.
At the EU meeting, Yatsenyuk said the referendum "has no legal grounds at all."
"That's why we argue that the Russian government should not support those who claim separatism in Ukraine."
He also insisted that
his country would pursue a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to the crisis
but would not be subordinate to Russia.
He urged Russia to pull
back its forces from Crimea and engage diplomatically. "If they are
ready to talk, we are -- and we made it very clear," he said.
In a move toward closer
ties with Europe, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine is ready to sign an association
agreement with the European Union. It was the decision by Yanukovych to
drop this planned agreement that first sparked the popular protests
that led to his downfall.
Nuclear issue
Justice Minister Pavlo
Petrenko told journalists in Kiev that the Crimean parliament's decision
is illegal because under the constitution, only national referendums
are permitted, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said.
The parliament in Crimea
installed a new, pro-Moscow government late last month -- as armed,
pro-Russian men besieged the parliament building -- and does not
recognize the authorities in Kiev.
Citizens will be asked on March 16 if they want an autonomous republic of Crimea within Russia; or within Ukraine.
The autonomous region
has a 60% ethnic Russian population, having been part of Russia until it
was ceded to Ukraine in 1954 by the Soviet Union. But not everyone may
be as keen on coming under Moscow's direct influence. A quarter of the
peninsula's population is Ukrainian and about 12% Crimean Tatars, a
predominantly Muslim group.
Michael Crawford, a
former British ambassador in Eastern Europe, cautioned that whatever the
result of the vote, it may be meaningless.
"It does not follow that if Crimea votes to join Russia, that anyone will accept it," he said.
"For Russia to start
cherry-picking bits of the former Soviet Union, cranking up referenda in
Kazakhstan or Latvia or wherever you like, to try to carve off bits,
would be against international law, and it would be something Vladimir
Putin has said he doesn't want to do."
Yatsenyuk said that if
Ukraine is broken up, the world will have trouble ever getting another
country to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Why? In 1994, Ukraine
agreed to give up its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in return for
guarantees -- signed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia
-- of its territorial integrity and independence. Continue reading
