The flags of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol have been added to a line of regional flags at the upper house of the Russian parliament. A ceremony was held at the hall of the Federation Council in Moscow on Monday, marking the end of a series of celebrations following Crimea’s integration into the Russian Federation. Earlier in the day, Ukraines interim President Olexander Turchynov ordered military pullout from Crimea because of Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families. His announcement came shortly after Russian troops took over a Ukrainian marine base in the Crimean port of Feodosia. The base in Feodosia was one of the few military buildings still flying the Ukrainian flag after Crimea re-joined the Russian Federation last week. Russia’s defense officials earlier said that the Russian flag had been hoisted at 189 Ukrainian military units and facilities in Crimea. Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which 96.8 percent of the participants voted in favor of the move. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent. On March 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the documents officially making Crimea part of the Russian territory. Putin said the move was carried out based on the international law. Putin also signed legislation creating two new Russian administrative districts -- Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol. Earlier, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, and the Federation Council had overwhelmingly put their stamps at the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. Moscow has said the reunification of Crimea and Russia “reflected the expression of will of the absolute majority of its people,” and “must be respected.” MP/AS/MAM 0 1
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 23:18:59 +0000
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