State Duma Council submits legislative acts on Crimea’s accession to Russia

The State Duma Council has submitted a package of legislative acts on the accession of Crimea’s to Russia.

Lawmakers will debate the reunification treaty and the draft federal law on the accession of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia.

“The reunification treaty will be ratified at once and the federal law will be approved in the first reading,” State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said.

“Crimea will accede to Russia in compliance with the federal law ‘On the Procedure for Admitting to Russia and Creating New Russian Entities’ based on the principle of self-determination, Russia’s state interests, the principle of federalism and human rights, as well as due the existing historical, cultural and economic relations between Russian regions,” Naryshkin said.

The committee said that the decision to admit Crimea into Russia was based on “the results of the all-Crimea referendum held on March 16, 2014, in which (people) supported re-unification of Crimea with Russia as its constituent member”, the declaration of independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and the treaty between Russia and Crimea on the latter’s admission into the Russian Federation and the formation of new constituent members within it.On Wednesday, March 19, the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots advised the lower house of parliament to ratify the re-unification treaty between Russia and Crimea. “All members of the committee unanimously supported ratification,” Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky said.

Crimea “is deemed admitted into the Russian Federation from the date when the treaty was signed,” the document said.

It states that “the official languages of the Republic of Crimea are Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar.”

All factions of the State Duma are ready to support legislative acts on Crimea’s accession. The plenary session will start at 16:00 Moscow time.

The treaty applies upon signature and enters into force from the date of ratification.On March 18, at the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, Crimean State Council Chairman Vladimir Konstantinov, Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov and Sevastopol Mayor Aleksei Chalyi signed a treaty under which “the Republic of Crimea is deemed to have been admitted to the Russian Federation.” “From the day of the Republic of Crimea’s admission to the Russian Federation, new constituent members - the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as a city of federal significance - shall be created in the Russian Federation,” the document said.

Under the treaty, a transitional period will continue until January 1, 2015 to solve all issues pertaining to the integration of the new constituent members into the economic, financial, credit and legal systems of Russia, into its government system, as well as issues concerning military duty and military service in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.

Elections in Crimea and Sevastopol will be held on the second Sunday of September 2015. The State Council of Crimea (parliament), the government of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council will continue to perform their functions until then.