1.   But Crimean lawmakers insist their constitution is still valid, and President Yuri Meshkov stubbornly refuses to relinquish his post.

2.   Defiant Crimean lawmakers responded by scheduling a referendum asking voters if they back the constitution.

3.   However, he urged Crimean lawmakers to rescind the resolutions themselves.

4.   In a further sign of rising tensions, police briefly blocked Crimean lawmakers from entering their building after a bomb threat.

5.   Crimean lawmakers meanwhile voted to grant Kuznetsov full powers as interior ministry to ward off the threat of a takeover by interior ministry forces from Kiev.