Russia`s parliament approved the annexation of Crimea on March 21 last year after residents of the peninsula supported the move in a referendum. Moscow has said repeatedly it will not return it to Ukraine.
Russian forces had already seized control of Crimea after the overthrow of a Ukrainian president backed by Moscow, a move described by Russian officials as a coup which threatened the safety of Crimea`s mainly Russian-speaking population.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday Washington would keep economic sanctions in place on Russia over the annexation as long as Crimea remains under Russian rule.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the 28-nation bloc would stick to its policy of not recognizing the annexation, including through sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin`s popularity has soared since the annexation of Crimea, which was given to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 when it was part of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine reacts
Ukraine, for its part, used the anniversary to once again harshly condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea, calling it an “illegal occupation” that has created an unprecedented crisis.
“In committing this international crime, Russia violated the basic principles of international law and European order, destroyed the existing balance of power in the region, and provoked [what has become] the most serious security crisis in post-World War II Europe,” says a statement issued Tuesday by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
Accusing Russia of having created on the peninsula an “atmosphere of fear, lawlessness and repressions,” Kyiv insists that Crimea “was, is and will remain an inalienable part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine.”
The statement adds that Russia, as “aggressor and occupier,” will be “held accountable for all crimes committed.”
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