Documents needed for further decisions on Crimea status will be drafted in addition to Putin's address - press secretary
MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - The Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that Vladimir Putin's decision to address the country's Federal Assembly concerning the results of the March 16 referendum in Crimea and the decision made by its Supreme Council was prompted by the president's willingness to articulate his opinion on this matter, not any legislative necessity.
"The president has decided to deliver this address. It is his personal initiative," Peskov told the Kommersant newspaper.
In addition to the president's address, certain documents will be drafted in order to be able to make further decisions regarding Crimea's status, he said.
Putin has visited Crimea on numerous occasions both as the head of state and during his term as Russia's prime minister as part of bilateral and multilateral formats, Peskov said.
"All of the further steps [on Crimea's accession to Russia] will become clear after the president's address," Peskov said, adding that all of these measures should be properly gauged from a judicial standpoint.
The Kremlin press service announced on Monday that Putin's address in the Kremlin to State Duma deputies, Federation Council members, regional governors and representatives of civil society following a request to admit the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia would begin at 3:00 p.m. on March 18.
Late on March 17, Putin also signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a sovereign and independent state.
