A referendum on the status of Crimea will be held March 16, the region's deputy prime minister announced. Crimeans will be asked to decide if the autonomous republic stays part of Ukraine or joins Russia.
"The referendum will take place March 16," said the autonomous region's First Deputy-Premier Rustam Temirgaliev, according to ITAR-TASS.
The new date is two weeks earlier than the one announced last week.
There will be two questions on the ballots.
"The first one: Are you in favor of Crimea becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation. The second one: Are you in favor of restoring Crimea's 1992 constitution," Temirgaliev said.
According to the 1992 constitution, the autonomous republic is part of Ukraine but has relations with Kiev, defined on the basis of mutual agreements.
Comment: It must be very hard for those 'journalists' who happily spread the U.S. drivel against Vladimir Putin and the late Hugo Chavez, to understand the depth and quality of sentiment which the former took the time to express for a man whom he admires.
Of all the above, only the bolded parts contain any truth, but also that "it is getting lonely in the Kremlin", yet not in the way the 'journalist' indented.
Chavez's death - nefarious indeed! - means that there are very few heads of states left in the world, with true understanding and courage in their purpose to care for their people, who can stand up to the U.S. psychopathic imperial machine and its allies. Losing one, is a loss for all of us who can See.