Crimea’s parliament has declared independence from Ukraine and has asked to join Russia as a new republic.
The parliament convened a special session on Monday, one day after a referendum in which nearly 97 percent of the votes were in favor of a proposal to join Russia.
Election officials also say that about 1.27 million people cast ballots. Voter turnout was 83 percent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that he is not considering making Crimea part of Russia, but hinted that he would respect the will of Crimean people.
The European Union and the United States consider the referendum illegal. They are considering additional sanctions against Russia for supporting it.
Source: NHK
