KIEV, March 21 -- The Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared Crimea's proclaiming independence from the country as unconstitutional, the court's press service said Friday.

A verdict issued by the court said the Black Sea peninsula's decision to seek independence does not conform to the Constitution, which guarantees Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

At an extraordinary session Monday, the Crimean parliament passed a declaration of independence from Ukraine, after official results showed 96.77 percent of Crimean voters chose to join Russia in Sunday's referendum.

The declaration appeals to the United Nations and its member states to recognize its existence and promises to "build its relations with other states on the basis of equality, peace, good neighborliness and other universally recognized principles of political, economic and cultural cooperation."

Russia was the first country to recognize Crimea as a sovereign and independent state.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Crimea signed a treaty accepting the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as part of Russian territory.