DHAKA: The Ukraine city of Sevastopol has declared itself a subject of the Russian Federation, hours after the semi-autonomous parliament of Crimea voted to do the same.

The city, on the Crimean peninsula and home to the Black Sea fleet of the Russian navy, made the announcement late on Thursday.

The US and EU earlier joined the Ukrainian government in condemning as "illegitimate" an earlier vote by the Crimean parliament to secede from Ukraine, and bring forward a planned referendum on the subject to March 16.

The move was condemned by Kiev as having no basis in law, while the US President Barack Obama said the referendum would violate the Ukrainian constitution and international law.

"Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine," he said.

However, Rustam Temurgaliyev, the region`s deputy prime minister, had earlier said the decree was effective immediately and that Russian soldiers were the only legitimate forces in Crimea.

"The Ukrainian armed forces have to choose: lay down their weapons, ... accept Russian citizenship and join the Russian military."

"If they do not agree, we are prepared to offer them safe passage ... to their Ukrainian homeland."

Ukraine`s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the vote was "illegitimate", while Oleksander Turchinov, the acting president, said Crimea MPs were working "under the barrel of a gun".


Obama also issued an executive order authorising sanctions against "individuals and entities responsible for activities undermining democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine.``

He said that Russia`s involvement in Crimea constituted "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States".

Source: Al-Jazeera
BDST:1050 HRS, MAR 07, 2014