Russia swallows Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, signed a treaty yesterday making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize other regions of Ukraine.

In a fiercely nationalistic address to a joint session of parliament in the Kremlin, Putin said Crimea's disputed referendum on Sunday, held under Russian military occupation, had shown the will of the overwhelming majority of the people to be reunited with Russia.

Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty that made Crimea part of Russia. Parliament was expected to begin ratifying the document within days.

The speech drew immediate hostile reaction in Kiev and the West. Ukraine's foreign ministry said it did not recognise the pact, which showed that Russia was a threat to international security.

US vice-president Joe Biden, on a visit to Poland, called Moscow's action "a land grab" and stressed Washington's commitment to defending the security of Nato allies on Russia's borders.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia's move on Crimea was unacceptable to the international community, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said London had suspended military cooperation with Russia.

In his speech, Putin lambasted Western nations for what he called hypocrisy, saying they had endorsed Kosovo's independence from Serbia but now denied Crimeans the same right.

"You cannot call the same thing black today and white tomorrow," he declared, saying that though he did not seek conflict with the West, Western partners had "crossed the line" in respect of Ukraine and had behaved "irresponsibly".

He said Ukraine's new leaders, in power since the overthrowing of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich last month, included "neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites".

Putin thanked China for what he called its support - even though it abstained in a vote on a UN resolution on Crimea that Moscow then had to veto alone.

He said he was sure Germans would support the Russian people's quest for reunification as Russia had supported German reunification in 1990.

There are fears in Kiev that Russia might move on the Russian-speaking eastern parts of Ukraine, where there has been tension between some Russian-speakers and the new government.

"Don't believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea. We do not want a partition of Ukraine," Putin said.