Putin signs treaty annexing Crimea to Russia

Vladamir Putin, Photo: foxnews.com

Mr. Putin said the West he needed to act firm to check the West's "hypocrisy"

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a treaty officially annexing the troubled region of Crimea, in Ukraine, defying sanctions from the West. He said the move merely corrected an injustice of the past.

Mr. Putin and Crimean leaders signed the treaty as the Russian national anthem played.

"In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia," he declared before the Russian parliament.

The treaty is expected to be ratified by Russia's Constitutional Court and the two houses of parliament within days.

Mr. Putin said he does not plan to seize any other region of Ukraine.

"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."

Russian forces took control of Crimea in February following the ousting of Moscow-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovic.

There were reports late Tuesday that one Ukrainian soldier was shot dead by unknown attackers, well equipped and faces covered.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said the conflict in Crimea had moved from a political to a military stage and he had asked his defense minister to call an urgent meeting with his Russian, U.S. and British counterparts.

"Today Russian soldiers began shooting at Ukrainian servicemen. This is a war crime," he said.

The United States, which announced sanctions against a number of Russian officials on Monday, said seizing Crimea was a "land grab". The United Kingdom said the move was "completely unacceptable".

United States' vice president, Joe Biden, said during a visit to Poland on Tuesday, that the U.S will impose further sanctions on Russia.

But Mr. Putin made it clear in his speech that Russia wouldn't be deterred by Western sanctions and asked China and India for their support.

In his speech, Mr. Putin slammed the U.S and other Western nations for their "hypocrisy", saying they had supported Kosovo's right to independence from Serbia but now denied Crimeans the same rights.

"You cannot call the same thing black today and white tomorrow," Mr. Putin said.

He said while he did not seek conflict with the West, Western nations had "crossed the line" over Ukraine and behaved "irresponsibly".

He thanked China for its "support" and said he was sure Germans would understand the Russian people's quest for reunification, just as Russia had supported German reunification in 1990.

In a moving speech, Mr. Putin accused the West of cheating Russia for years.

"They have constantly tried to drive us into a corner for our independent stance, for defending it, for calling things by their proper names and not being hypocritical," Mr. Putin said. "But there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a line. They have behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally."

Putin signs treaty annexing Crimea to Russia.