Tension escalates as Russia presses claim for Ukraine's Crimea

[link to touch.latimes.com]
The rhetorical contest over Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula escalated Friday with Russian lawmakers pledging to welcome the region into Moscow’s fold after a planned referendum on secession and the government in Kiev declaring any such vote illegitimate.

“No one in the civilized world” will recognize the validity of the referendum initiated by pro-Russian representatives in Crimea’s regional assembly and scheduled March 16, warned Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk. He harshly repudiated those agitating for Crimea to break away from Ukraine and join Russia as “separatists and other traitors.”

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