Crimean Tatar leader tells Putin secession would break post-Soviet pact

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Crimean Tatar leader told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the secession of Crimea from Ukraine to join Russia would violate an international treaty in which Russia, Britain and the United States vowed to keep Ukraine intact.

Putin spoke by phone with Mustafa Dzhemilev, a senior figure in the Crimean Tatar community, in what may have been an effort to ease their concerns over a referendum on Sunday in which Crimeans will be asked whether they want to join Russia.