Duma deputies welcome delegation from Crimea

(7 Mar 2014) Lawmakers in the lower house of Russia's parliament welcomed a Crimean delegation to Moscow on Friday. On Thursday, Crimea's parliament pushed through what amounted to a declaration of independence from Ukraine. It said it would let the Crimean people - 60 percent of whom are ethnic Russian - decide in a March 16 referendum whether they want to become part of their gigantic neighbour to the east. Sergey Naryshkin, the speaker of the State Duma - the lower house of Russia's parliament - told Crimean delegates on Friday that they would "consider the historic choice of Crimean people with respect". Vladimir Konstantinov, the chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, called Thursday's declaration "historic" and said they would have been blamed if they hadn't taken their chance and called for a referendum. Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Russian Communist Party, said they had chosen "the clearest and most correct form of expressing the people's will". Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic party, told the Crimean delegates that "your decision will find total support among us, and other people (in Russia)". Russia's parliament is planning to review a bill as early as next week that would speed up Crimea's integration into Russia. Crimea would be the first territory to officially join Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...