In a speech to the Russian parliament, President Vladimir Putin urged the body to accept Crimea as a part of Russia. He additionally addressed the world, saying that the West had crossed a red-line by condoning the coup in Kiev, and that he hoped Ukraine would respect the rights of the predominantly Russian regions in the eastern portion of the country. Putin further stated that Crimea's secession from Ukraine was just like Kosovo's secession from Serbia, and any arguments otherwise are just attempts to bend the West-advocated rules that were applied to the Kosovo case..