Parliamentarians in the Ukrainian region of Crimea have voted to formally become a part of the Russian Federation.
The decision would be put to the Crimean people for their verdict in a referendum on March 16, parliament of the autonomous region said.
The announcement from Crimea’s parliament came as Eropean Union leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to respond to Russian troop deployment on Ukrainian soil.
A minister in Kiev, however, said they believe it would be unconstitutional for Crimea to join Russia.
Crimea, having a mostly ethnic Russian population, has been at the centre of tensions following the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich.
Pro-Russian and Russian forces have been for several days in de facto control of the peninsula, which already enjoys a degree of autonomy from Kiev.
The Crimean parliament resolved “to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation”.