Putin Signs Crimea Seizure into Law in Kremlin Ceremony

President Vladimir Putin on Friday sealed the absorption of Crimea into Russia after the upper house of parliament unanimously ratified the treaty in the face of international condemnation.

In a televised ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin signed the legal documents then received a standing ovation from lawmakers and the singing of the Russian anthem.

"Today we have a serious, momentous event. Today we are completing the legal procedures connected with the addition of Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia," Putin said.

"I want to congratulate you, all the inhabitants of the country, Russian citizens, the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol on this landmark -- without any exaggeration -- event."

Putin signed the initial agreement on Tuesday, which then had to be ratified by the lower and upper houses of parliament in a swift formality.

The Kremlin has said that it considers Crimea part of Russia since the signing of the treaty.

The treaty creates two new Russian administrative regions: Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based.

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, vowed that a new map showing Crimea as part of Russia would be hung in its offices by Monday.

"Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for your will, for your courage, for not giving into any pressure, and I hope you felt that all the time we were with you," said Matviyenko, who is one of the Russian lawmakers to be targeted by U.S. sanctions.

The upper house earlier on Friday voted unanimously to ratify the treaty, a day after the lower house of parliament, the Duma, ratified it with just one MP voting against.

The citizens of Crimea "clearly and unambiguously made their choice to return to the Motherland and the Motherland was waiting for them," said the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, who has also been blacklisted by the U.S.

Putin warned lawmakers: "We have a lot of work ahead on adapting Crimea to the Russian legal system, into the Russian economy, the social sphere", asking them to ensure the transition was "not only painless but beneficial to all Russia and the Crimeans."

Meanwhile, an advisory body of the pro-democracy Council of Europe said late Friday that Crimea's referendum to join Russia was "illegal."

The Council of Europe's so-called Venice Commission which is made up of independent constitutional experts said Crimea's vote to secede was undemocratic and violated Ukraine's constitution.

"The Constitution of Ukraine... provides for the indivisibility of the country and does not allow the holding of any local referendum on secession from Ukraine," said the commission in a statement.

"Only a consultative referendum on increased autonomy could be permissible under the Ukrainian Constitution."

World leaders have refused to recognize Crimea's secession poll held over the weekend in which 96 percent of voters in the Black Sea peninsula rejected the new pro-European government in Kiev and voted instead to join Russia.

The West has blacklisted 33 Russian politicians, members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, and Black Sea and Crimea commanders in retaliation after Moscow on Tuesday signed a treaty to absorb Crimea into its territory.

Europe on Friday signed the political section of a landmark treaty on closer ties with Kiev's new pro-EU government.

A plenary session of the Venice Commission confirmed an earlier opinion that the referendum was not "held in line with European democratic standards".

"Any referendum on the status of a territory should have been preceded by serious negotiations among all stakeholders. Such negotiations did not take place," said the statement.

Russia's representative at the commission, Taliya Khabrieva, said many countries had seceded through local referendums, pointing to Eritrea, Bangladesh, and more closer to home, Kosovo.

"A large number of new states emerged after exercising this right," she said.

Ukraine joined the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, a body created to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law, in 1995 and Russia a year later.