The interim Ukrainian government has announced it will not cede Crimea, the peninsula with a significant ethnic Russian population, to Russia.
The Saturday announcement comes a little more than a week before a controversial referendum is to be held on whether or not Crimea will break away from the Ukraine and join Russia, The Washington Post reported.
"Crimea is and will be Ukrainian territory, and we will not give up Crimea to anyone," Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukraine's acting foreign minister, said according to The Washington Post.
The crisis between Russia and the Ukraine was fueled when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Crimea at the end of February, claiming he needs to protect Ukrainian citizens who are also Russian from being attacked.
Deshchytsia added that the referendum "is illegitimate and will not have any legal implications for Crimea, for Ukraine, as well as for the international community."
President Barack Obama has called the anticipated referendum "illegal," New.com.au reported.
The interim Ukrainian democratic government was implemented after months of protest against the then president Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted last month.
Both of Russia's upper and lower houses said they would welcome Crimea if it decides to join.
"Should the people of Crimea decide to join Russia in a referendum, we...will unquestionably back this choice," Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house, told News.com.au.
At the same time, Russia has slammed the interim Ukrainian government for housing extremists, in particular from the Right Sektor, a group that was born from the pro-democracy protests.
"Effectively there is no state control whatsoever over public order and the music is ordered by the so-called Right Sektor, which operates with methods of terror and intimidation," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said according to The Washington Post.
In Crimea, though tensions are high, there have been no reports of violence or human rights violations, according to The Washington Post.
