Russia vows no Ukraine invasion as leaders seek solution

MOSCOW, Mar 29 (AFP): Russia Saturday pledged it would not invade mainland Ukraine following its seizure of Crimea and said it favoured the ex-Soviet state becoming a federation as a way of defusing the crisis.
Tensions have run high after Russian President Vladimir Putin ripped up the post-Soviet order with Moscow's lightning takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, with the United States accusing Russia of massing tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's eastern border.
But telephone talks between Putin and US counterpart Barack Obama late on Friday were the latest sign of a slight lessening in tensions between Moscow and the West and a search for a mutual solution in what remains the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hinted at what were Moscow's main demands in the negotiations-that Ukraine should be made into a federation and commit to not joining NATO, while order should be restored to the Ukrainian capital Kiev where protesters have thronged the city centre for half a year.
Ukraine is now entering a crucial phase in its development after the fall of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych in February, as the clock ticks down to May 25 presidential elections which are expected to cement Kiev's pro-West course.
Meanwhile: Crimea's Tatars will Saturday hold a vote on whether to push for self-rule in their historic homeland following its annexation by Russia.
Ethnic Tatars from all over Crimea convened in the town of Bakhchisaray for an emergency Qurultai, or congress, to decide on the fate of the Muslim community of about 300,000 people on the Black Sea peninsula.
"There comes a moment in the life of every people when a choice must be made that will determine its future," said Tatar leader Refat Chubarov.
He urged the audience packed into a community centre to vote for a draft resolution calling for the "launch of political and legal procedures (for the) national and territorial autonomy of the Crimean Tatar people on their historical territory, Crimea."