Crimean parliament votes to join Russian Federation

The parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea voted on March 6 to exit the Ukrainian state and join the Russian Federation as its subject, reportedly earning 78 out of 81 votes. It appealed to Russian Presidential Vladimir Putin and the Russian parliament to begin the procedures to annex Crimea. Earlier that day, the parliament voted to hold the referendum on Crimean independence on March 16 instead of March 30 as had been earlier announced (and May 25 initially).

In response to the referendum decisions, Ukrainian Parliament Head and Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he rejected the independence vote and will lead the parliament to dissolve the Crimean parliament. He cited the Ukrainian Constitution that states only a nationwide referendum can decideissues related to Ukraine’s borders and changes in territory. Moreover, he pointed out that organizing a referendum on 10 days is logistically impossible. “This isn’t a referendum,” he said. “It’s a farce, a falsehood and it will be a crime against the state that was organized by the armies of the Russian Federation.

The Crimean referendum will violate international law and the Constitution of Ukraine, U.S. President Barack Obama said on March 6. “Any discussion on the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine,” Obama said. To resolve the crisis, Obama proposed allowing international observers onto Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, to ensure the rights of all Ukrainians, including ethnic Russians. He also proposed launching negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian governments, involving international observers.

Military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were denied entry on March 6 by men in Russian military uniforms saying they had orders to stop them, reported Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yevhen Perebiynis. “During talks between the leader of the Ukrainian group with the individuals, who were armed and conduct themselves aggressively, the inspection group was informed about the need to clear its travel into the autonomy with the Crimean government and was denied entry into the peninsula’s territory,” he said.

Zenon Zawada: The Russian government was clearly panicked when it decided to authorize such votes in Crimea yesterday. Moving the referendum date for the third time – to within ten days – looks particularly desperate. So does having the Crimean parliament approve a decision that was supposed to be made by a referendum, which will now be reduced to a propaganda stunt. In the big picture, yesterday’s votes in the Crimean parliament merely escalates the conflict and sow the seeds for greater strife. Russia will have to eventually use force in order annex a territory without the permission of the Ukrainian government, or the international community, which is where this conflict is heading. That will have very negative implications for the Ukrainian economy.

We see this as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grander strategy of stirring disorder in Ukraine and weakening the Ukrainian state, with the ultimate goal of its discreditation globally. At minimum, he is seeking to create a quasi-state similar to Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which separate governments operate simultaneously within a single state entity. That accomplishes his prime goal of preventing the territory’s into Euro-Atlantic structures and offering an alternative to his dictatorial, kleptocratic government model.