Crimea Parliament Asks to Join Russia

[morningfog]

MPs in Crimea have asked Moscow to allow the southern Ukrainian region to become part of the Russian Federation. Parliament said if its request was granted, Crimean citizens could give their view in a referendum on 16 March.

A government minister in Kiev said it would be unconstitutional for Crimea to join Russia. Crimea, a region whose population is mostly ethnic Russian, has been at the centre of tensions following the fall of Ukraine's pro-Moscow president.

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The Crimean parliament resolved "to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation".

In a statement on its website, parliament said it had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin "to start the procedure" of formally allowing Crimea to join the Russian Federation.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26465962