President Vladimir Putin asks West for recognition of Crimea as Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Tuesday for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, an end to Ukraine's NATO membership bid and a halt to weapons shipments there.

Putin claimed that Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognised as a legitimate reflection of the local population's choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence. The annexation has been widely condemned by Western powers as a breach of international law.

To end the current crisis, he also called for the renunciation of Ukraine's NATO bid, saying it should assume a neutral status, and said that the West should stop sending weapons there.

No Putin-Biden  meet now, says White House

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has clarified that a proposed meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "certainly is not in the plans" anymore. The remarks came after Putin’s decision to declare the rebel regions in Ukraine as independent states and push more troops towards Kiev. 

Addressing reporters late on Tuesday, the press secretary did not explicitly rule out a meeting in the future but said Biden would not meet Putin unless Russia de-escalates the situation in Ukraine by withdrawing its forces from the region.

Agencies