(VOVworld) – The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, told US President Barack Obama in a phone call on Sunday that the Crimean people vote on their future was legitimate. In response to Obama’s claim that the referendum violated Ukrainian law, Putin said that it fully conformed with international law and the UN Charter. The referendum gave Crimeans the chance to express their aspirations and decide their future.

An election commission official prepares for a referendum at the polling station in Simferopol March 15, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

Obama said that the poll had been conducted following Russia’s military intervention, so its result would not be recognized by the US and the world. According to the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the referendum in Crimea was "illegal and illegitimate" and its outcome "would not be recognized." 

The poll closed on Sunday. Mikhail Malyshev, Head of the referendum commission, announced that 95% of voters had said yes to joining Russia. The commission reported that 83% of Crimeans had cast ballots and there had been no complaints of illegal voter activity.