OTTAWA -- Foreign Affairs Rob Nicholson is marking the first anniversary of the tainted referendum in Crimea with a promise never to recognize the outcome.
The vote led to Russia annexing the strategic Ukrainian peninsula and heated up a crisis which continues today.
Nicholson says Canada does not recognize the annexation and insists on a full Russian withdrawal
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has taken a hard line on Ukraine, imposing sanctions and repeatedly urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to get out of the country.
Harper has travelled to Kiev to show support.
He invited Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to address a joint session of Parliament last September.
