Putin recognises Crimea \\\'sovereignty\\\'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognising Crimea as a 'sovereign and independent state' hours after Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine. The move came came on Monday afternoon after the United States and European Union imposed personal sanctions on Russian and Crimean officials involved in the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. The BBC in a report said that sources confirmed the decree would come into force immediately. The moves heightened the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War, following a disputed referendum in Crimea on Monday.Tthe Black Sea peninsula on Sunday voted in favour of joining Russia in which Crimea’s leaders declared a Soviet-style, 97-percent vote to secede from Ukraine.