(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) The French President Francois Hollande called Tuesday for a "strong and coordinated" EU response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which he said Paris did not recognise. "The next European Council on March 20 and 21 must provide the opportunity for a strong and coordinated European response to the new step that has just been taken," he said in a statement. "France does not recognise the results of the referendum held in Crimea on March 16, or the annexation of this region of Ukraine to Russia." President Vladimir Putin caused an outcry Tuesday when he signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, just weeks after pro-Russian forces seized the peninsula following the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych. The move comes after a controversial secession referendum was held in the mostly Russian-speaking peninsula Sunday, with almost 97 percent voting to split from Ukraine
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