Kiev, March 11 (IANS): The parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tuesday adopted a declaration of independence from Ukraine.
The declaration specifies that Crimea will become independent if around two million residents vote in favour of joining Russia in the referendum scheduled for Sunday, Xinhua reported.
Last Thursday, the Crimean parliament voted to become part of Russia, though Ukrainian authorities have dismissed the upcoming referendum as "illegal", saying it violated the legal procedures established by the constitution.
On Friday, Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Alexandr Turchynov, who is also the country's acting president, signed a decree vetoing the Crimean lawmakers' decision to hold a referendum and threatened to dissolve the Crimean parliament.
Some ethnic groups living in the Crimean peninsula have stated that they intend to boycott the referendum.