Crimean parliament votes to join Russia
Crimea's vice premier, Rustam Temirgaliev, announced on Thursday that the region will be holding a referendum on whether to join the Russian Federation on March 16, according to RIA news agency.
Temirgaliev said the referendum would involve two questions:
Are you in favour of Crimea becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation?
Are you in favour of restoring Crimea’s 1992 constitution?
Meanwhile the Crimean parliament has unanimously voted in favour of joining Russia, according to RIA news agency. The interim government of Ukraine has claimed the move would be unconstitutional.
Speaking in Kiev, Ukraine's interim economy minister Pavlo Sheremeta said:
We're not working out what to do if Crimea joins the Russian Federation because we believe it's unconstitutional.