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| Kremlin Signals It Will Embrace Crimean Move for Secession | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — The speaker of the Russian Parliament said on Friday that Russia would embrace a decision by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin would back a secessionist move that Western leaders and the government in Kiev have denounced as a violation of international law. | SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — The speaker of the Russian Parliament said on Friday that Russia would embrace a decision by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin would back a secessionist move that Western leaders and the government in Kiev have denounced as a violation of international law. |
| The Crimean Parliament voted behind closed doors on Thursday to break away from Ukraine and scheduled a referendum on the issue for March 16, which leaders in Parliament said was intended to allow Crimean voters to ratify their decision. | |
| In Moscow, where lawmakers from Simferopol, the Crimean capital, met with Russian legislators, Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, said Russian lawmakers would strongly endorse the move. | |
| “We will respect the historic choice of the people of Crimea,” Mr. Naryshkin said, according to Russian news services. “Members of Parliament support you in the strongest terms,” he told the visiting Crimean delegation, which included the speaker of Parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov. | |
| The move to secede from Ukraine was swiftly denounced by the fledgling national government in Kiev, which said it would invalidate the decision and dissolve the Crimean Parliament, and also by President Obama in Washington, where the United States government on Thursday announced sanctions in response to Russia’s military occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. | |
| “Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.” | “Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.” |
| Hours after the United States announced the first punitive actions against specific Russians, Mr. Obama contacted President Vladimir V. Putin. The two leaders spoke for an hour by telephone and, according to the White House, Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to authorize direct talks with Ukraine’s new pro-Western government, permit the entry of international monitors and return his forces to the bases that Russia leases in Crimea. | |
| Early Friday, the Kremlin released a statement offering a starkly different account of the phone call, and emphasizing Russia’s view that the new government in Kiev is illegitimate. | Early Friday, the Kremlin released a statement offering a starkly different account of the phone call, and emphasizing Russia’s view that the new government in Kiev is illegitimate. |
| “In the course of the discussion there emerged differences in approaches and assessments of the causes which brought about the current crisis and the resulting state of affairs,” the statement said. “Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that this had occurred as a result of an anti-constitutional coup, which does not have a national mandate.” | “In the course of the discussion there emerged differences in approaches and assessments of the causes which brought about the current crisis and the resulting state of affairs,” the statement said. “Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that this had occurred as a result of an anti-constitutional coup, which does not have a national mandate.” |
| The Kremlin went on to say that the current Ukrainian leadership had imposed “absolutely illegitimate decisions” on the eastern and southeastern regions of the country. “Russia cannot ignore appeals connected to this, calls for help, and acts appropriately, in accordance with international law,” the statement said. | |
| Mr. Putin, the statement said, appreciated the importance of the Russian-American relationship to global security, and added that bilateral ties “should not be sacrificed for individual — albeit rather important — international problems.” | Mr. Putin, the statement said, appreciated the importance of the Russian-American relationship to global security, and added that bilateral ties “should not be sacrificed for individual — albeit rather important — international problems.” |
| With Washington and Moscow trading angry accusations of hypocrisy on the issue of respecting state sovereignty, validating Crimea’s secession would carry pointed political risks for Mr. Putin, given longstanding demands for independence from Russia by its own similarly autonomous republics in the Caucasus, including Dagestan and Chechnya. | With Washington and Moscow trading angry accusations of hypocrisy on the issue of respecting state sovereignty, validating Crimea’s secession would carry pointed political risks for Mr. Putin, given longstanding demands for independence from Russia by its own similarly autonomous republics in the Caucasus, including Dagestan and Chechnya. |
| Michael A. McFaul, the former American ambassador to Russia, noted the parallel in a sharp post on Twitter. “If Russian government endorses Crimean referendum,” Mr. McFaul wrote, using abbreviations needed for a 140-character limit, “will they also allow/endorse similar votes in republics in the Russian Federation?” | Michael A. McFaul, the former American ambassador to Russia, noted the parallel in a sharp post on Twitter. “If Russian government endorses Crimean referendum,” Mr. McFaul wrote, using abbreviations needed for a 140-character limit, “will they also allow/endorse similar votes in republics in the Russian Federation?” |
| The West, which has insisted that the Ukrainian people are entitled to decide their future without interference from Russia, faces similar challenges as it seeks to explain why the people of Crimea should not necessarily decide their own fate. | The West, which has insisted that the Ukrainian people are entitled to decide their future without interference from Russia, faces similar challenges as it seeks to explain why the people of Crimea should not necessarily decide their own fate. |
| The United States and its European allies typically support self-determination but have opposed independence for regions in their own borders, like Scotland from Britain or Catalonia from Spain. | The United States and its European allies typically support self-determination but have opposed independence for regions in their own borders, like Scotland from Britain or Catalonia from Spain. |
| As Russian armed forces held the Crimean peninsula in a tight clench, with military bases surrounded and border crossings under strict control, international diplomats raced from meeting to meeting on Thursday in an effort to end the standoff. | As Russian armed forces held the Crimean peninsula in a tight clench, with military bases surrounded and border crossings under strict control, international diplomats raced from meeting to meeting on Thursday in an effort to end the standoff. |
| European leaders signaled they might join American sanctions and Moscow threatened countermeasures as an already tense situation was made edgier by the start of new Russian military drills. | European leaders signaled they might join American sanctions and Moscow threatened countermeasures as an already tense situation was made edgier by the start of new Russian military drills. |
| European Union leaders issued a statement in Brussels calling an annexation referendum “contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and therefore illegal.” | European Union leaders issued a statement in Brussels calling an annexation referendum “contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and therefore illegal.” |
| In Kiev, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, said the national government would invalidate the decision to hold the referendum and would dissolve the Crimean Parliament. Crimea, part of Ukraine since 1954, has enjoyed substantial autonomy since shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the region’s Constitution generally defers to the national Ukrainian Constitution on jurisdictional matters. | |
| Mr. Turchynov scoffed at the plan for a referendum, noting that Russian forces had taken control of Crimea’s borders and ports and were blocking Ukrainian military bases and occupying other security installations. “This will be a farce,” he said in a televised address. “This will be false. This will be a crime against the state.” He insisted that Ukraine would “protect the sanctity of our territory.” | |
| Officials in Kiev had already declared the Crimean Parliament to be acting illegally, and a court issued an arrest warrant for Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of the breakaway effort, who was installed as prime minister of Crimea after armed men seized the Parliament building last week. | |
| Leaders of the peninsula’s large Crimean Tatar minority also denounced the move. “Today’s decision by the Parliament is completely illegal,” said Refat Chubarov, the leader of the main Tatar organization and a member of Parliament. He refused to take part in the parliamentary voting on Thursday because he said it was illegitimate. | |
| “More troubling for us is that this decision could provoke and lead to further escalation of tensions,” Mr. Chubarov said in an interview. “A referendum under the conditions of the presence of foreign troops on the streets is called something entirely different in world practice — it’s a coup. It’s the seizure of territory.” | |
| The sanctions Mr. Obama approved Thursday imposed visa bans on officials and other individuals deemed responsible for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. The administration would not disclose the names or number of people penalized, but a senior official said privately that it would affect just under a dozen people, mostly Russians but some of them Ukrainian. | |
| Among those targeted were political figures, policy advisers, security officials and military officers who played a direct role in the Crimean crisis, the official said. Any of them seeking to travel to the United States would be barred, and a few who currently hold American visas will have them revoked. | Among those targeted were political figures, policy advisers, security officials and military officers who played a direct role in the Crimean crisis, the official said. Any of them seeking to travel to the United States would be barred, and a few who currently hold American visas will have them revoked. |
| Mr. Obama also signed an executive order laying out a framework for tougher measures like freezing the assets of individuals and institutions. But the White House refrained from applying those measures while officials gathered evidence in the hope that waiting would provide some space for Russia to reverse course. The House, in the meantime, approved an economic aid package for the Kiev government and advanced its own sanctions resolution. | |
| Moscow, however, gave no indication that it would back down, suggesting that it would reciprocate with measures seizing American property in Russia. “The U.S. has the right, and we have the right to respond to it,” Vladimir Lukin, a Russian envoy who has worked on the Ukrainian crisis, told Interfax, a Russian news agency. “But all that is, of course, not making me happy.” | |
| The European Union took a step toward more serious measures by suspending talks with Moscow on a wide-ranging political-economic pact and on liberalizing visa requirements to make it easier for Russians to travel to Europe. European leaders laid out a three-stage process that, absent progress, would next move to travel bans, asset seizures and the cancellation of a planned European Union-Russia summit meeting and eventually to broader economic measures. | The European Union took a step toward more serious measures by suspending talks with Moscow on a wide-ranging political-economic pact and on liberalizing visa requirements to make it easier for Russians to travel to Europe. European leaders laid out a three-stage process that, absent progress, would next move to travel bans, asset seizures and the cancellation of a planned European Union-Russia summit meeting and eventually to broader economic measures. |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been reluctant to move quickly toward sanctions, said the European Union was looking for concrete evidence that Russia was trying to calm the situation “in the next few days,” but she noted that Thursday’s events in Crimea made the need for action more urgent. | Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been reluctant to move quickly toward sanctions, said the European Union was looking for concrete evidence that Russia was trying to calm the situation “in the next few days,” but she noted that Thursday’s events in Crimea made the need for action more urgent. |
| “We made it very clear that we are absolutely willing to achieve matters by negotiation,” she said. “We also say, however, that we are ready and willing, if these hopes were to be dashed and looking at what happened on Crimea, to adopt sanctions.” | “We made it very clear that we are absolutely willing to achieve matters by negotiation,” she said. “We also say, however, that we are ready and willing, if these hopes were to be dashed and looking at what happened on Crimea, to adopt sanctions.” |
| The moves came as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the crisis. A top aide said Mr. Kerry urged Mr. Lavrov to talk directly with Ukrainian leaders. “We want to be able to have the dialogue that leads to the de-escalation,” Mr. Kerry told reporters. “We want to be able to continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis.” | The moves came as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the crisis. A top aide said Mr. Kerry urged Mr. Lavrov to talk directly with Ukrainian leaders. “We want to be able to have the dialogue that leads to the de-escalation,” Mr. Kerry told reporters. “We want to be able to continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis.” |
| Mr. Kerry also met in Rome with counterparts from Germany, France, Italy and Britain, and expressed support for a push by Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to establish a “contact group” seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The group would include Russia, Ukraine, Britain, France and the United States, and serve as a way to bring Moscow and Kiev to the table. | Mr. Kerry also met in Rome with counterparts from Germany, France, Italy and Britain, and expressed support for a push by Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to establish a “contact group” seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The group would include Russia, Ukraine, Britain, France and the United States, and serve as a way to bring Moscow and Kiev to the table. |
| Mr. Lavrov expressed irritation at talk of sanctions and other retaliation. “There are many one-sided, half-hysterical evaluations in the media,” he told reporters. “I repeated this to John Kerry, who seems to understand that it doesn’t really help the flow of normal work. It’s impossible to work honestly under the threat of ultimatums and sanctions.” | Mr. Lavrov expressed irritation at talk of sanctions and other retaliation. “There are many one-sided, half-hysterical evaluations in the media,” he told reporters. “I repeated this to John Kerry, who seems to understand that it doesn’t really help the flow of normal work. It’s impossible to work honestly under the threat of ultimatums and sanctions.” |
| In Crimea, regional leaders said they were confident voters would choose Russia over Ukraine. The City Council of Sevastopol, which has a separate legal status, took matching steps on Thursday to hold a similar referendum on joining Russia. Pro-Russia demonstrators cheered the news and regarded secession from Ukraine as a foregone conclusion. | |
| “We’re already Russian,” Natasha Malachuk said as she picketed a local security headquarters. | “We’re already Russian,” Natasha Malachuk said as she picketed a local security headquarters. |
| Others objected, particularly the Tatar minority. “It’s completely illegitimate,” said Bilal Kuzi-Emin, 25, a Tatar who works as a waiter. A Kiev court has already ruled the Crimean Parliament’s actions illegal. |