When the annexation of Crimea by Russia seems a matter of days, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has suggested that the major Western powers, Russia and Ukraine resolve the current crisis at the negotiating table. The Russian proposal wants Ukraine to become a federal state which declares itself to be "militarly and politically neutral", with Russian as the "second official language" alongside Ukrainian.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced its proposal through its website by saying that the Ukrainian provinces should be granted "broad" legislative and executive powers, in economic, financial and language areas. Accoridng to the Russian proposal, Ukraine should be re-shaped by a new federal Constitution agreed by representatives from all regions of Ukraine. Crimean representatives will no longer be participating in that consititutional meeting, Russians say, since the Crimean citizens yesterday expressed their "free will" to join the Russian Federation instead.

Regarding geopolitics, Russia proposes Ukraine to become a neutral state. This status, together with the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the country, will be guaranteed by Russia, the European Union and the United States through a resolution of the United Nations Security Council.

The Russian Ministry document does not clarify what will happen if the Western powers do not accept those terms. The Russian government insists it has the right to protect ethnic Russians wherever they live. Besides Crimea, Russian minorities in Ukraine are mostly concentrated in the south and the east, and more specifically in the Donbass basin, at Ukraine's easternmost area.

EU and US oppose referendum, annexation

The Russian proposal falls far short of the approach made ​​by the European Union and the United States. Both believe that yesterday's referendum was illegal and, therefore, the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation is too. US President Barack Obama today said that there are still possibilities to "resolve this situation diplomatically". But according to him, this will only be possible if Russia "pulls its forces in Crimea back to their bases" and starts a dialogue with the Ukrainian government, "which has indicated its openness to pursuing constitutional reform as they move forward towards elections this spring".

But the Russian government does not see things that way, especially considering that it does not consider itself to have caused the current crisis. According to the Kremlin narrative, Crimeans themselves have decided to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

On the ground, Russian forces are in control of the peninsula. The procedure for the admission of Crimea to Russia could be finished within two weeks, Crimean authorities have said. The Crimean government considers that, starting from today, the peninsula is an independent country.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government insists that Crimea is a part of Ukraine and that the country "is ready to defend its territory". The reality, however, is that Russian military is far stronger than the Ukrainian.

(Picture: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov / image: Congress of Peru.)