Crimea Votes To Join Russia, European Union Imposes Sanctions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans on a small group of officials from Russia and Ukraine after Crimea applied to join Russia on Monday following a weekend referendum. Crimeas leaders declared a Soviet-style 97-percent result in favour of seceding from Ukraine in a vote condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West. The Crimean parliament formally proposed that Russia admit the Republic of Crimea as a new subject with the status of a republic. Russian President Vladimir Putin will address a special joint session of the Russian parliament on the issue on Tuesday, aides said. The move would dismember Ukraine against its will, escalating the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War. Russian forces took control of Crimea in late February following the toppling of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich after deadly clashes between riot police and protestors trying to overturn his decision to spurn a trade and cooperation deal with the EU and seek closer ties with Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on 11 Russians and Ukrainians blamed for the military seizure, including Yanukovich, and Vladislav Surkov and Sergei Glazyev, two aides to Putin. Putin himself, suspected in the West of trying to resurrect as much as possible of the former Soviet Union under Russian leadership, was not on the blacklist.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:33:32 +0000
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