Russian President Vladimir Putin moved forward on Tuesday with the process of bringing Crimea into Russia, approving a draft bill to formalize the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula, a day after recognizing Crimea as an independent state.
Putin approved the draft bill and notified the government and both chambers of the Russian parliament of Crimea's request ahead of his afternoon speech in which he is expected to voice his opinion on the peninsula's bid.
The steps came a day after Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a "sovereign and independent country" hours after the United States and the European Union announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis.
President Obama warned Monday that more would come if Russia didn't stop interfering in Ukraine.
"We'll continue to make clear to Russia that further provocations will achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world," Obama said at the White House shortly after the penalties were announced.
Residents in Crimea, a strategic Black Sea peninsula, voted overwhelmingly Sunday in favor of the split, and Crimea's parliament declared the region an independent state on Monday.
The Crimean parliament declared that all Ukrainian state property on the peninsula will be nationalized and become the property of the Crimean Republic. It gave no further details. Lawmakers also asked the United Nations and other nations to recognize it and began work on setting up a central bank with $30 million in support from Russia.
Moscow showed no signs of flinching in the dispute that has roiled Ukraine since Russian troops took effective control of the strategic Black Sea peninsula last month. In fact, one of the Russians named openly mocked the sanctions.
"Comrade Obama, what should those who have neither accounts nor property abroad do? Have you not thought about it?" Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted. "I think the decree of the President of the United States was written by some joker."
The sanctions freeze any assets the targeted individuals have under U.S. jurisdiction, make it illegal for Americans to do business with them and discourage international banks and financial institutions from having relationships with them, administration officials said. The officials, however, would or could not say if those targeted actually have assets in U.S. jurisdictions.
Moscow, meanwhile, called on Ukraine to become a federal state as a way of resolving the polarization between Ukraine's western regions — which favor closer ties with the 28-nation EU — and its eastern areas, which have long ties to Russia.
In a statement Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry urged Ukraine's parliament to call a constitutional assembly that could draft a new constitution to make the country federal, handing more power to its regions. It also said the country should adopt a "neutral political and military status," a demand reflecting Moscow's concern that Ukraine might join NATO and establish closer political and economic ties with the EU.
Russia is also pushing for Russian to become one of Ukraine's state languages, in addition to Ukrainian.
In Kiev, Ukraine's new government dismissed Russia's proposal as unacceptable, saying it "looks like an ultimatum."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya visited NATO headquarters in Brussels to request technical equipment to deal with the secession of Crimea and the Russian incursion there.
NATO said in a statement that the alliance was determined to boost its cooperation with Ukraine, including "increased ties with Ukraine's political and military leadership."
(Fox News)
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