The pro-Russian government of Ukraine 's southeastern Crimean region declared independence Tuesday ahead of a scheduled referendum on whether to join Russia , ignoring international warnings that the vote wo n't be recognized . In the regional capital Simferopol , pro-Russian militiamen guarded the airport and train station , some wearing armbands that proclaimed their allegiance to `` the autonomous republic of Crimea . '' Flights into the region from Ukraine 's capital , Kiev , were canceled Tuesday , while flights from Moscow appeared to be landing as scheduled . A guard at the railway station told CNN that he and his comrades were looking out for weapons being shipped in from the rest of Ukraine . Tuesday 's declaration from the Crimean parliament announced that if its population votes in favor of joining Russia on Sunday , it will ask the Russian Federation if it can join with Moscow . Almost immediately afterward , the Russian parliament announced it would debate whether to accept Crimea as part of the country on March 21 . Ukraine 's interim government , backed by the United States and European powers , has said the upcoming vote is illegitimate . And from Russia , ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych -- run out of his country in a revolt that triggered the current crisis -- insisted he was still the legitimate leader and vowed to return to Kiev `` as soon as the circumstances allow . '' Yanukovych fled Kiev on February 22 , after three months of protests against his decision to scrap a trade deal with the European Union and embrace closer ties with Russia . Less than a week later , armed men seized the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol and raised the Russian flag above it . Ukrainian government forces in Crimea have been surrounded in their bases by well-equipped troops wearing uniforms with no insignia -- troops Western countries say are Russian but whom Moscow calls local `` self-defense '' forces . The move has effectively severed the strategic peninsula , which has an ethnic Russian majority , from the rest of Ukraine . U.S. and Western diplomats have urged Russia to enter into talks with Ukraine , but Russian officials have shown little interest . While the West is preparing sanctions against Russia over the standoff , U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart , Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov , that `` there is an off-ramp here , '' State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington . `` Any discussion about the future of Crimea needs to take place with the new government of Ukraine at the table , engaged in it , participating in that conversation , '' Psaki said . The United States understands that Russia has interests in Crimea , `` but those interests in no way justify military intervention or the use of force , '' she added . The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine and urging economic and other sanctions in response . In a 402-7 vote , lawmakers approved a nonbinding resolution stating that Russia 's action poses a `` threat to international peace and security '' and calling on Russia to remove `` all of its military forces from Ukraine 's Crimean peninsula '' other than those that are there in accordance with an agreement on operations of Russia 's Black Sea fleet . The resolution urges the Obama administration to `` work with our European allies and other countries to impose visa , financial , trade , and other sanctions on senior Russian Federation officials , majority state-owned banks and commercial organizations , and other state agencies , as appropriate . '' Lavrov said Monday that Kerry had postponed a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss U.S. proposals , which Moscow has effectively rejected . The meeting would have marked the highest-level contact between the two countries since Russian troops took up positions in Crimea . The head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also said the referendum would be illegal . Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter , the OSCE 's current chairman , said holding the referendum without everyone affected being on board would `` provoke tensions instead of leading to sustainable solutions . '' OSCE monitors have been denied entry into Crimea by armed men several times since the crisis began . In a statement issued Tuesday evening , Russia 's Foreign Ministry cited Kosovo 's secession from Serbia -- a move recognized by Western governments over bitter opposition from Serbia and its historical allies in Moscow -- as precedent for the `` absolutely legitimate '' Crimean vote . `` The Russian Federation will respect the results of the free vote of Crimea 's people during the referendum , '' it said . Amid tensions over Ukraine , space cooperation goes on . Lavrov and Kerry spoke on the phone Tuesday , both sides reported . During the conversation , Lavrov said Russia `` emphasized the need to respect the rights of all Ukrainians and all regions while looking for ways of solving the crisis , and the need to respect the rights of Crimea 's citizens to determine their destiny by themselves in accordance with the international law , '' the Foreign Ministry said . French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also called the referendum illegal , tweeting on his official account Tuesday that sanctions against Russia over its intervention in Crimea could come as soon as this week . Sanctions would include asset freezes and visa suspensions , he said . `` We have a firm position , but still we are seeking a political solution , '' Fabius tweeted . `` The only legitimate vote in Ukraine will be May 25 , the upcoming presidential election . '' And German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his government 's current relationship with Russia can not continue unless the country heeds calls to calm the situation . `` We are not only deeply worried , but we believe what is intended by Russia in view of the Crimea is completely unacceptable , '' Steinmeier said during a visit to the former Soviet republic of Estonia , now a NATO ally and European Union member . Steinmeier said Germany and Estonia `` agree that we will stand up to further escalations united and determined . '' But in Crimea , pro-Russian forces were in firm control and warning loudly against `` fascists '' they claimed had seized power in Kiev . Ruslan Dudkin , a volunteer at a militia camp in Simferopol , compared the protesters who rallied in Kiev 's Maidan Square to topple Yanukovych to `` cockroaches . '' `` The people on the Maidan would soil and sleep and eat in the same place , it was worse than tramps , '' he said . Meanwhile , a commander of the notorious Berkut riot police -- disbanded after Yanukovych was ousted but celebrated as heroes in Crimea -- denounced the February revolt in Kiev . `` The Maidan was a provocation from start to finish , '' said Vladimir Krashevsky , whose forces appeared to have close ties to the militia . `` There was no democracy , and no real indignation from the people . It was a paid-for event . '' And pro-Russian billboards portray Sunday 's choice as one between a free Russia and a Ukraine under the swastika . Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called that `` one of the more outrageous placards I have ever seen . '' `` There are probably good-willed people who are concerned that their Slavic brothers and sisters are all of a sudden being subjected to fascism or Naziism , because that is what Russian TV is putting out , '' Albright told CNN 's `` Amanpour '' program . `` There are a lot of older people who probably remember World War II and the tragedies that took place in Ukraine , and so this is just pure , unadulterated scare tactics , '' Albright added . And Fabius defended Ukraine 's new government Tuesday , saying it was `` legitimately installed by the Ukrainian parliament '' and that the extreme right `` is not represented . '' Yanukovych , meanwhile , made what was only his second public appearance since leaving Ukraine on Tuesday to insist he was still the country 's rightful leader . Speaking in Rostov-on-Don in southwestern Russia , Yanukovych slammed the interim government in Kiev as `` a gang of ultranationalists and fascists . '' Yanukovych , who spoke backed by the yellow-and-blue flag of Ukraine , insisted he is still the lawful leader of his country and will return to Kiev `` as soon as the circumstances allow . '' `` I 'm not just the legitimate President , but I am also the head of the military . I 've not stopped my responsibilities , I 'm alive , I 've not been left without my powers , '' he said . Moscow has denounced the events that led to Yanukovych 's ouster as an illegitimate coup and has refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities , putting the two countries on a collision course over control of Crimea . The Black Sea peninsula has been part of Ukraine since 1954 but has strong cultural and historical ties to Russia , which has a large , strategically important naval base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol . Putin has said his government has the right to protect ethnic Russians living there . INTERACTIVE : Comparing Ukraine and Russia 's military forces .
U.S. House approves resolution condemning Russia , urging sanctions . OSCE chief says Crimea referendum would make things worse . Pro-Russian billboards portray Crimea under the swastika . Russia calls Crimea vote `` absolutely legitimate , '' cites Kosovo precedent .