Armenia will abstain from voting on Ukraine's draft resolution that suggests declaring the Crimean referendum invalid, Azatutyun (RFE/RL Armenian Service) reports with reference to Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tigran Balayan. The voting will be held at the UN General Assembly on March 27.
To note, in the March 19 telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that the referendum in Crimea was one more example of exercise of the peoples' right to self- determination through a free expression of will. This statement caused official Kyiv's indignation and Armenia's Ambassador to Ukraine Andranik Manukyan was handed a note. Ukraine's Ambassador to Armenia met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan, however, the latter confirmed Armenia's commitment to the principle of peoples' right to self-determination.