KIEV: In an attempt to boost the country’s defenses, the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to create a 60,000-strong National Guard on the basis of internal troops.
In a statement, the country’s national Security Chief Andriy Parubiy said the new National Guard would be deployed to ensure state security, defend the borders, and eliminate terrorist groups.
A referendum on the status of Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region will be held on March 16 in which Crimeans will be asked to decide if the autonomous republic stays part of Ukraine or joins Russia.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterpart US Secretary of State John Kerry held a telephone conversation and agreed to continue dialogue on Ukraine as the two are meeting in London on Friday.
