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Ukraine Leader: Crimean Authorities Work Under Barrel Of A Gun

ReutersMar 6, 2014, 18:37 IST

REUTERS/Alex KuzminUkraine's acting President Oleksander Turchinov attends a parliament session in Kiev February 28, 2014.

KIEV (Reuters) - The pro-Russian authorities in Ukraine's Crimea region are illegitimate and working under the barrel of a gun, Acting President Oleksander Turchinov said on Thursday.

"The authorities in Crimea are totally illegitimate, both the parliament and the government. They are forced to work under the barrel of a gun and all their decisions are dictated by fear and are illegal," his spokeswoman quoted him as saying.

She said Turchinov would issue a statement later on Thursday on Crimea, whose parliament voted on Thursday to join the Russian Federation.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)