Crimea Parliament Votes Unanimously to Join Russia

Locals Hope Reaccession Would Mean Calm

The Crimean parliament made a surprise announcement this morning of its intention to vote on joining Russia. By this afternoon they had unanimously approved the idea.

The text of the bill called on Crimea to separate outright from the Ukraine and “enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation.”

The announcement was met with mixed reaction among Crimean pro-secession protesters, many of whom see it as all but impossible to split from Ukraine. Others said they hoped accession into Russia would mean a return to calm in the peninsula.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no intention of annexing the Crimea even if they manage to extricate themselves from the Ukraine. Crimea has also scheduled a referendum on secession.

Putin’s position is not universal among Russian politicians, however, as many Russian MPs cheered today’s vote, and promised to push a bill that would speed the procedure for accession into the Russian Federation of any region, like Crimea, with a majority Russian population.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.