Crimea becomes an ‘integral part’ of Russia with dizzying speed
KYIV, Ukraine — With dizzying speed, Crimea became “an integral part� of Russia Tuesday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued his defiance of global political opinion.
“In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been, and remains, an inseparable part of Russia,� Putin said in an address that was attended by Russian parliamentarians and his inner circle.
Less than a month after Russia’s ally, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled from power in Kyiv and less than two weeks after Russian troops entered Crimea, the Russian anthem played in the background as Putin signed a treaty with the new Crimean government and spoke to members of the Russian Duma and others in his ruling circle in a nationally televised address.
Somewhat lost in the drama of the moment was a small olive branch that Putin extended to Ukraine and the West. Russia did not have territorial designs on other parts of Ukraine, the Russian leader said, although tens of thousands of his troops remained on exercise just across Ukraine’s eastern borders.
“Don’t believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea,� Putin said. “We do not want a partition of Ukraine. We do not need this.�
For several days now there has been violent confrontations between pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia groups in several Ukrainian cities near the border such as Donetsk and Kharkiv.
As Putin accepted Crimea’s declaration of independence Monday, Tuesday’s integration of Crimea into Russia was not, from the Russian point-of-view, the formal annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula but an agreement between two independent states.
Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, which was conducted with Russian troops occupying everything of strategic value in the territory, overwhelmingly backed union with Russia. The ballot was quickly condemned as illegal by the West. On Monday, the U.S. and European Union imposed some banking and travel restrictions against about 20 Russian officials and were said to be considering additional financial measures to sanction Russia if it formally absorbed Crimea into its federation.
Despite the West’s timid response, the aftershocks from the biggest political crisis in Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union are likely to be felt for many years to come.
Putin felt he had to act in Crimea, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, because “I do not want to be welcomed in Sevastopol by NATO sailors.�
Offering an olive branch of his own, Ukraine’s acting Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk told Ukrainians on Tuesday that Kyiv would not join NATO and would disarm radical nationalist militias who make no secret of their contempt for Russia.
Crimea had always been part of Russia historically and this understanding “has been preserved and passed on from generation to generation,� Putin said in his speech. It was a wildly emotional appeal to Russian patriotism and it received a tumultuous response from those at the Kremlin who listened to it.
Putin accused the West of hypocrisy for allowing Kosovo to separate from Serbia but was now trying to stop Crimeans from doing the same.
Regarding the coup in Kyiv, Putin said the West had “crossed the line� by supporting violent protests against Yanukovych.
In what has become standard boiler plate in recent weeks for any Russian politician, he denounced Ukraine’s new leaders as “neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites.�