Putin escalates his Ukraine war with recognition of Crimea as Russia

Moscow, Feb 22: Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Tuesday for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, an end to Ukraine's NATO membership bid and a halt to weapons shipments there.

Putin claimed that Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognised as a legitimate reflection of the local population's choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.

The annexation has been widely condemned by Western powers as a breach of international law.

To end the current crisis, he also called for the renunciation of Ukraine's NATO bid, saying it should assume a "neutral status," and said that the West should stop sending weapons there.