Ukraine will deny recognition to the outcomes of the March 16 referendum in Crimea, acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.
"Crimea was, is and will be an inseparable part of Ukraine. We will never acknowledge the so-called referendum, which has been artificially designed," he told the UN Security Council in New York City on Thursday.
Ukrainian authorities will launch a national dialogue at the Verkhovna Rada for broadening Crimean powers with constitutional means and opportunities, Yatseniuk said. He also promised protection to the rights, freedoms and languages of national minorities.
Meanwhile, Moscow has declared the lawfulness of the Crimean referendum on various levels.
It was reported earlier that Russia considers the decision of the Crimean Supreme Council, which passed on March 11 the declaration of the independence of Crimea, to be legitimate.
“Russia will respect completely the results of the free vote of Crimea during the referendum, to which, as it is known, observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and along the bilateral line have been invited,” the Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement.
The Crimean Supreme Council passed on March 11 a declaration of Crimea’s independence, in accordance with which, if the decision to join Russia is made at the referendum on March 16, Crimea will be declared an independent and sovereign state with a republican form of rule. According to the document, Crimea will be a democratic, secular and multi-national state, which takes the obligation of maintaining peace, inter-ethnic and inter-religious accord on its territory. In case of relevant referendum results, Crimea, as an independent and sovereign country, will propose Russia take Crimea as a new Russian region on the basis of relevant inter-state agreements.
The declaration stipulates the international and legal merits of this step and refers to the UN Charter, other international documents and the conclusion of the UN International Court on Kosovo of July 22, 2010, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“The named conclusion, passed upon the request of the UN General Assembly on the initiative of Serbia, the International Court has confirmed the fact that unilateral proclamation of independence by a part of a country does not violate any standards of international law. The same conclusion was voiced during the hearings of the International Court prior to this, in particular, in documents and speeches of official representatives of the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and other western countries. The materials on the stance of the International Court and named western representatives are posted on the website of the Foreign Ministry,” the document said.
