(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, OCT 3 - Russian lawmakers on Monday voted unanimously in favour of legislation to annex four regions of Ukraine, rubber stamping a move that escalates the conflict and was already approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Members of the Kremlin-loyal lower house of parliament, the State Duma, all voted to incorporate Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia with no abstentions or votes against the annexation, its website showed. Putin last Friday presided over a grand ceremony at the Kremlin during which he signed agreements with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions to become subjects of the Russian Federation. Ukraine responded by officially lodging an application with the US-led military alliance NATO for membership and said it would never negotiate with Russia as long as Putin was in power. (ANSA-AFP).