Russia legalizes annexation of Crimea! 

-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL 

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President Vladimir Putin has, in a decree, formally recognized Crimea as independent state, after the overwhelming majority of the peninsula's voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The decree, which was effective immediately, paves the way for the possible absorption of Crimea into Russia. The recognition of independence is a step toward the subsequent procedures, specified by the federal constitutional law about the procedure of incorporating into the Russian Federation of new regions

Russians celebrate the annexation of Crimea. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has defended Russia's takeover of Crimea, saying that the referendum among the peninsula's voters corrected a historical "mistake."  Gorbachev, the recipient of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, added that international sanctions — such as those the U.S. and European nations have brought against Russia — would be justified only on "very serious grounds," which he said the takeover of Crimea had failed to provide.

Crimea was part of Russia until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine in 1954, in a symbolic gesture that had little significance at the time since both countries were part of the Soviet Union. In 1991, the leader of the Russian Soviet Republic, Boris Yeltsin, and his counterparts from Ukraine and Belarus signed a deal breaking up the Soviet Union and establishing new independent states. Gorbachev did not participate in the 1991 meeting. Many Russians have used Crimea's history as a reason to legitimate Russian military intervention in the peninsula, which harbors a 60 percent Russian-speaking population and voted in favor of joining Russia in a referendum.

The Ukrainian government, European Union countries and the USA have all decried the balloting referendum as a sham. Voters were given just two weeks to contemplate their choices, amid the heavy presence of Russian troops, and with television coverage limited to Russia's state-run broadcasters. 

The referendum ballots gave voters no option for voting against joining Russia, with the choices on the ballot limited to secession to Russia or rewriting Crimea's constitution to give the region greater autonomy from Ukraine. More than 83 percent of Crimea's eligible voters cast ballots in the referendum, most of them ethnic Russians. Nearly 97 percent of the votes were in favor of joining Russia. 

Meanwhile, in order to pacify Russian anger, Ukraine's new pro-Western Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said  in a 10-minute televised appeal delivered in Russian that Ukraine is not seeking membership in NATO.. Yatsenyuk, who came to office after the removal of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovych  said that decentralization of power was a key plank of government policy, adding that Kiev's efforts to integrate with Europe would take into account the interests of Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking industrial east. Yatsenyuk also said Ukraine's authorities were determined to disarm all groups holding weapons, regardless of their aims. 

Yatsenyuk said Ukraine would sign the political part of an association agreement with the 28-nation EU, but would put off agreement on economic issues. It was Yanukovych's decision not to sign the association accord with the EU and to pivot toward Moscow that ignited the street protests in Kiev last November that finally led to his ouster. Moving closer to the EU does not preclude Ukraine maintaining good relations with Russia, Yatsenyuk said. Yatsenyuk made clear that he will do everything possible to uphold peace and build relations of partnership and good neighborliness. 

Kiev pursued a policy of closer ties with the U.S.-led NATO alliance before Yanukovych took power in 2010. Yanukovych then formally scrapped the idea of Ukraine's eventual membership of NATO, declaring "non-bloc" neutrality for his nation of 46 million sandwiched between Russia and the European Union. 

Russia, whose forces control Ukraine's Crimea region, says Yanukovych remains the legitimate president and denounces Kiev's new authorities in Kiev as anti-Russian and beholden to extreme right-wing groups who it says forced Yanukovych to quit. Moscow says it reserves the right to "defend" Russian speakers in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.

Russia is fully satisfied with the western responses the annexation of Crimeaas both USA ad EU,  undertook, rather reluctantly,  mild sanction.  

 In fact, Putin more than happy that neither Ukraine nor its  allies like USA or NATO could do anything serious enough for the Kremlin to withstand.