Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, signed a treaty on Tuesday making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine.
In a fiercely patriotic address to a joint session of the Russian Parliament in the Kremlin, punctuated by standing ovations, cheering and tears, Mr Putin said Crimea’s disputed referendum vote on Sunday, held under Russian military occupation, had shown the overwhelming will of the people to be reunited with Russia.
To the Russian national anthem, Mr Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty on making Crimea part of Russia, declaring: “In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.”
The Russian Parliament is expected to begin ratifying the document within days.
The speech drew immediate hostile reaction in Kiev and the West. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it did not recognise the pact, which showed how Russia posed a threat to international security.
US vice-president Joe Biden, on a visit to Poland, called Moscow’s action a land grab and stressed Washington’s commitment to defending the security of Nato allies on Russia’s borders. Polish PM Donald Tusk said Russia’s move on Crimea was unacceptable to the international community, while British foreign secretary William Hague said London had suspended military cooperation with Russia.
In his speech, Mr Putin lambasted Western nations for what he called hypocrisy, saying they had endorsed Kosovo’s independence from Serbia but now denied Crimeans the same right, he said.
“You cannot call the same thing black today and white tomorrow,” he declared to stormy applause, saying while he did not seek conflict with the West, Western partners had “crossed the line” over Ukraine and behaved “irresponsibly”.
He said Ukraine’s new leaders, in power since the overthrow of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich last month, included “neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites”.
Mr Putin, however, also sought to reassure Ukrainians that Moscow did not seek any further division of their country. Fears have been expressed in Kiev that Russia might move on the Russian-speaking eastern parts of Ukraine, where there has been tension between some Russian-speakers and the new authorities.
“Don’t believe those who try to frighten you with Russia
and who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea,” Mr Putin said. “We do not want a partition of Ukraine.”
Setting out Moscow’s view of the events that led to the overthrow of Mr Yanukovich in a popular uprising last month, Mr Putin said the “so-called authorities” in Kiev had stolen power in a coup, opening the way for extremists who would stop at nothing.
Making clear Russia’s concern at the possibility of the US-led Nato military alliance expanding into Ukraine, he declared: “I do not want to be welcomed in Sevastopol (Crimean home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet) by Nato sailors.”
Moscow’s seizure of Crimea has caused the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War and Mr Putin showed no sign of backing down despite the threat of tougher sanctions.
In Crimea, where his speech and the signing ceremony were broadcast live, his words caused rapture for some. “Putin’s done what our hearts were longing for,” said Natalia, a pensioner who sells snacks in a kiosk in the centre of Simferopol, the region’s capital. “This finally brings things back to what they should be after all those years. For me, for my family, there can be no bigger joy, for us this is sacred.”
On Monday, the United States and the European Union imposed personal sanctions on a handful of officials from Russia and Ukraine accused of involvement in Moscow’s seizure of the Black Sea peninsula. Russian politicians dismissed the sanctions as insignificant and a badge of honour. The State Duma (lower house) adopted a statement urging Washington and Brussels to extend the visa ban and asset freeze to all its members. The foreign ministry in Moscow said it would retaliate.
The White House said the world’s seven leading industrial democracies will hold a Group of Seven meeting without Russia on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague next week to consider further response to Russia’s actions.
In a symbolic gesture, Crimea’s PM Sergei Aksyonov announced Tuesday that Crimea will switch to Moscow time from March 30. In the Crimean capital Simferopol, banks scrambled to introduce the rouble as an official currency alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia.