Moscow signals it will embrace Crimean move for secession

Moscow:  Leaders of both houses of Russia's parliament said on Friday they would support a vote by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become a new region of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin was backing the secessionist move that Ukraine, the United States and other countries have denounced as a violation of international law. Valentina I. Matviyenko, the chairwoman of the upper house, the Federation Council, compared the vote to a scheduled referendum in Scotland on whether to become independent from Britain, omitting the fact that London has agreed to the ballot. Ukraine's new interim leaders have fiercely opposed splintering the country. The speaker of the lower house, Sergei Y. Naryshkin, echoed Matviyenko's remarks. "We will respect the historic choice of the people of Crimea," he said. The remarks by the leaders, both close political allies of President Vladimir Putin, came a day after Crimea's regional assembly voted behind closed doors to secede from Ukraine and to hold a referendum on March 16 for voters in the region to ratify the decision. On Friday a delegation of lawmakers from Crimea arrived in Moscow to lay the groundwork for joining Russia, winning strong endorsements from senior lawmakers.