The European Union has urged more states to impose sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine, as Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the region to celebrate the second anniversary of its annexation.
The US also condemned Russia’s takeover of the Black Sea peninsula and rights groups accused Moscow of repressing Crimeans who criticise it.
The Kremlin dismissed such claims amid flag-waving celebrations, though Mr Putin highlighted major practical problems facing Crimea by saying someone should be “hanged” if a vital bridge linking it to Russia is not completed on schedule.
The $3 billion bridge is being built by a firm controlled by Arkady Rotenberg, a longtime friend of Mr Putin.
"The European Union reiterates that it does not recognise and continues to condemn this violation of international law," the European Council said in statement.
“The European Union remains committed to fully implementing its non-recognition policy, including through restrictive measures. The EU calls again on UN member states to consider similar non-recognition measures.”
Tatar persecution
The EU also expressed “deep concern at the military build-up and the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Crimean peninsula . . .and the persecution of persons belonging to minorities, in particular the Crimean Tatars”.
The Crimean Tatar community strongly opposes Russian rule and its members complain of arbitrary arrest and abuse. Its self-governing council, called the Mejlis, is threatened with closure as an “extremist” organisation.
Crimean Tatar leaders, whom Russia has banned from their homeland, attended an event in New York on Thursday.
There US envoy to the UN Samantha Power denounced a violation that "persists for every day that Russia continues to occupy the peninsula".
