Putin signs treaty to incorporate Crimea
Iran Press TV
Tue Mar 18, 2014 5:19PM GMT
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treaty making Crimea part of Russia and accuses the United States of basing its policies on the rule of the gun and not international law.
Putin signed the document on Tuesday, two days after Crimeans voted in favor of secession from Ukraine to join Russia.
In a 40-minute televised speech, Putin said "in people's hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia."
"Crimea is Sevastopol, the legendary city, the city of a great fate, a city-fortress and the birthplace of the Russian Black Sea navy," he told lawmakers and top officials gathered in the Kremlin's ornate Saint George hall.
Putin also said the United States is being guided in its foreign policy by the "rule of the gun."
"Our Western partners headed by the United States prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun," he said.
"They have come to believe in their exceptionalism and their sense of being the chosen ones. That they can decide the destinies of the world, that it is only them who can be right," he added.
Putin dismissed Western criticism of Crimea's Sunday referendum as a manifestation of the West's double standards.
"If you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back," he said.
On Sunday, 96.8 percent of Crimeans voted to rejoin Russia.
The move sparked angry reactions from Washington and the EU, both imposing punitive measures against a number of Russian officials as well as authorities in Crimea.
KA/HGH/SL
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