(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) The recently appointed head of the southern Ukrainian republic of Crimea said his government refuses to negotiate with newly installed central authorities in the capital, Kiev.
"We don't consider this government that proposes talks to us to be legitimate, that is the main issue," Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov told Latvian radio station Baltco
Crimea, a peninsula of some 2 million people, has with ample support from Russia resisted the authority of the leadership that came to power last month after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, which followed months of mainly peaceful protests in Kie
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week described the current Ukrainian government as illegitimate, in effect bolstering the Crimean government's positio
Aksyonov has requested that Moscow provide security assistance in the largely ethnic Russian-populated Crimean Peninsula amid oft-aired concerns the region could come under attac
Thousands of unidentified troops under apparent command from Russia have taken control over Ukrainian military bases across the Crimea over the past wee
Russia's parliament has given its approval to military intervention in Ukraine, ostensibly for peace-keeping purpose
But Putin has denied that Russian troops are already deployed, and has described the well-armed troops seen driving around Crimea in vehicles bearing Russian military license plates as "local militia." Crimea plans to hold a vote this month on the future status of the peninsula, with greater autonomy and even secession named as possible options on the ballo
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