Pro, anti-Russia protests held in Ukraine Crimea
Iran Press TV
Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:0PM GMT
Tensions are running high in southern Ukraine, as pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators have gathered outside the parliament of Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The two rival rallies were staged on Wednesday in Simferopol, the administrative center of the Autonomous Republic, where the regional parliament was to hold a crisis session on the ongoing turmoil in the country.
In addition, a Russian parliamentary delegation has arrived in Crimea, which is home to Russia's Black Sea Naval Fleet, to evaluate the situation in southern Ukraine.
The Russian lawmakers said residents of Crimea could claim Russian citizenship and if Crimeans and their parliament decide to be part of Russia again, Moscow would welcome the idea.
Elsewhere in the autonomous republic, pro-Russian protesters staged a demonstration in the region's largest city of Sevastopol. The protesters voiced opposition against the Western-backed leaders in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Meanwhile, three former Ukrainian presidents - Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko - have accused Russia of interfering in their country's internal affairs.
Russia has questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine's new leadership, saying the current authorities there have come to power as a result of an "armed mutiny."
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev denounced on February 24 the Western countries' decision to accept the Ukrainian new authorities as a mistake and an "aberration of consciousness."
Ukraine has been the scene of anti-government protests since November last year, when Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.
CAH/AB/SL
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