KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Crimea’s Parliament said Tuesday that if the public votes to become part of Russia, the peninsula will declare itself independent and propose becoming a Russian state. That could offer a way of de-escalating the standoff between Russia and the West.

The vote in Crimea’s Parliament about Sunday’s referendum could give Moscow the option of saying there is no need for Crimea to become part of Russia while keeping it firmly within its sphere of influence.