Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional a planned referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on joining Russia. It comes one day ahead of the scheduled referendum by the Parliament of Crimea.
The decision means the Crimean Parliament’s decree to hold the vote carries no power - according to the court. The Court has ordered Crimea to halt all preparations for the referendum vote, and to destroy voting-papers and promotional material across the Crimean Peninsula. Under Ukrainian law, the Constitutional Court’s decision cannot be appealed, and must be implemented.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is expected to convene an emergency meeting on Saturday to vote on a draft resolution on Ukraine, drawn up by the United States and backed by Western countries.
The council meeting comes after talks in London between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the Ukrainian crisis made no progress on Friday.