The parliament of Crimea has declared formally its independence from Ukraine. The parliament also asked to formally join the Russian Federation and become one of its constituents, reported BBC.
The decision was after the controversial referendum held last Sunday which officials said was backed overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the United States of America and the European Union said that the vote was illegal. They also said that they would impose penalties on Russia, reported BBC. On the other hand, the government in Kiev said that it will not recognize the results of the referendum held March 16.
Moscow said that the pro-Russian forces were deployed for self-defense and were not under direct control. According to BBC, the Crimean peninsula had been under pro-Russia forces control since February.
The crisis in Crimea followed after Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last February 22. Yanukovych was pro-Moscow, according to reports from BBC News.
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