Moscow - The Federation Council ratified the treaty on the Crimean accession to Russia and the formation of new constituent territories in the Russian Federation at a special session on Friday.
The treaty between Crimea and Russia was signed at the Kremlin on March 18 by President Vladimir Putin, Crimean Supreme Council head Vladimir Konstantinov, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksionov and Sevastopol Mayor Alexei Chaly.
“The treaty is based on the free and voluntary expression of will of the Crimean people at an all-Crimea referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on March 16, 2014, during which the Crimean people decided to reunite with Russia,” a treaty memo says.
The treaty says Crimea shall be admitted to the Russian Federation on the day of the treaty signing. On that day new constituent territories – the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol – are established.
The Russian Federation guarantees the right to preserve the native language and pledges to create conditions for the native language studies and development to all peoples who populate the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.
Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar have been declared the state languages of the Republic of Crimea.
The limits of the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol shall be their borders as of the date of their accession to the Russian Federation. The land border of the Republic of Crimea with Ukraine shall be the state border of the Russian Federation.
The waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov shall be delimitated on the basis of international treaties of the Russian Federation, norms and principles of international law.
Since the day of the Crimean accession to the Russian Federation, citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons permanently residing in the republic or Sevastopol shall be recognized as Russian citizens with the exception of individuals who declare within one month their wish to retain other citizenship for themselves and/or their underage children or to remain stateless persons.
