"The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the decision of the parliament of Crimea absolutely lawful," the ministry said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
The statement came following an earlier vote by the local parliament in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which declared the region an independent state, as a precursor to a referendum scheduled for March 16 to ask Crimea residents if they preferred to split off from Ukraine and join neighboring Russia.
The declaration achieved 78 votes in favor out of 81 assembly members present in the 100-member parliament.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said Moscow will respect the results of the upcoming March 16 referendum on the region’s future.
It said the declaration will make Crimea an independent and sovereign state with a republican political system after it joins the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will discuss legislation on March 21 on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.
The autonomous region of Crimea has become the flashpoint for tensions since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last month following three months of street protests and violent unrest in the capital Kiev and other cities.
Ukraine has been gripped by a political crisis since November 2013, when Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
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