With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia on Tuesday, describing the move as correcting past injustice and responding to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia’s vital interests.
In an emotional 40-minute speech televised live from the Kremlin, Putin said “in people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia.”
In the worst East-West face-off since the end of the Cold War, the United States and the European Union have slapped sanctions on Russia. France’s foreign minister said that leaders of the Group of Eight world powers have suspended Russia’s participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia’s incursion into Crimea.
Japan imposed some modest sanctions on Russia for its recognition of Crimea as an independent state suspending talks on relaxing visa requirements between the two countries and talks on investment, space exploration and military cooperation.
The US and EU imposed personal sanctions on Russian and Crimean officials involved in the “seizure” of the Crimean region from Ukraine, describing it as the start of a series of comprehensive and punitive measures. “If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions,” President Barack Obama said, shortly after his administration announced freezing the US assets of 11 Russians and Ukrainians, including two top aides of President Putin, for their support of Crimea’s vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. Washington, however, refrained from putting Putin himself on the blacklist.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “We are witnessing a clear attempt to pave the way for the annexation of part of the sovereign territory of an independent European state, through military force and an illegal and illegitimate referendum.” He added, “The UK calls again on Russia to enter into dialogue with Ukraine and with the international community to resolve this crisis”.
Despite the Ukraine crisis, France’s Foreign Minister laurent Fabius said that Vladimir Putin was still invited to D-day commemorations in France on June 6. “President Putin has been invited ... And for the moment he remains invited,” Fabius said on Europe 1 radio.
Similar sanctions were announced by the European Union in Brussels. While the US zeroed in on Putin’s top advisers, the EU said it was subjecting 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials to visa restrictions and asset freezes for their roles in the events leading to Crimea’s secession.
Reiterating that the Crimea referendum was a clear violation of Ukrainian constitution and international law and that the international community would not recognise it, Obama said the US and allies would calibrate their response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or de-escalate the situation.
“Now, I believe there’s still a path to resolve this situation diplomatically in a way that addresses the interest of both Russia and Ukraine. That includes Russia pulling its forces in Crimea back to their bases, supporting the deployment of additional international monitors in Ukraine, and engaging in dialogue with the Ukrainian government, which has indicated its openness to pursuing constitutional reform as they move forward towards elections this spring,” Obama said in comments before President Putin signed the decree recognising Crimea as an independent state.