Australia is the newest nation to impose financial sanctions on Russia Wednesday, after President Vladimir Putin signed the treaty to annex Crimea, an autonomous region of Ukraine.
Over a dozen of Russian and Ukrainian officials came under Australia's financial sanctions radar. Julie Bishop, the foreign affairs minister of Australia, said the Crimea referendum was not a justifiable reason to break up from Ukraine.
"International law does not allow one state to steal the territory of another on the basis of a referendum that cannot be considered free or fair. It cannot form the legitimate basis of any alteration to the status of Crimea," she said, reports The Guardian.
She also argued that Ukraine did not authorize the referendum and that Russian forces in the peninsula helped in holding the referendum.
Without naming the officials, Bishop said Australia will impose sanctions and travel bans on 12 Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in separation of Crimea from Ukraine. "Australia has taken these actions in solidarity and support for a rules-based international order," she said, reports ABC News Australia.
"I continue to urge the Russian government to abide by its international obligations, including its responsibility as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, for the maintenance of international peace and security. I call on Russia, again, to change course," she said, reports The Australian.
The move comes after the European Union, the United States and Canada imposed sanctions on Russia. They had earlier threatened Putin of serious consequences if he went ahead with the annexation. However, defying these sanctions the Russian president approved a draft bill to formally occupy Crimea, Tuesday.
He justified his move calling it a correction of injustice done in the past and a response to what he called Western encroachment upon his country's fundamental interests.
Sunday's referendum witnessed an overwhelming 97 percent Crimean voters supporting reunification with Russia.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has scheduled a G7 summit next week in The Hague to discuss about the mounting tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
