With Crimean appeal, Putin goes head-to-head with West over Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Almost certainly orchestrated by Vladimir Putin, Crimea's appeal to join Russia pits the president directly against the West in a standoff that has increasingly high stakes and unpredictable consequences.

The vote by the Crimean parliament gives Putin the upper hand in the crisis over Ukraine, but risks antagonising the pro-Western leaders in Kiev who have refused until now to resort to military action and increase tensions in Ukraine's Russian-speaking south and east.