Skip to main content

UN to hold emergency talks on Ukraine

The UN Security Council will meet just hours after Russian leader Vladimir Putin won approval from MPs to send Russian troops into Ukrainian territory.

The UN Security Council will meet for a second round of emergency consultations, officials say, after Russia's parliament approved the deployment of troops to Ukraine.

The president of the Security Council, currently Luxembourg, invited members to "informal consultations" at 1900 GMT on Saturday (0600 AEDT Sunday), a statement said.

The announcement came just hours after Russian leader Vladimir Putin won approval from MPs to send Russian troops into Ukrainian territory.

Britain's ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, tweeted that the meeting was called at London's request.

The UN envoy to Ukraine, Robert Serry, announced earlier that he was leaving the country because it was impossible to visit Crimea as requested by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban ordered Serry to visit the Crimea in a bid to de-escalate tensions after an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday.

"I have since been in touch with the authorities of the autonomous republic of Crimea and have come to the conclusion that a visit to Crimea today is not possible," Serry said in a statement from Kiev.

"I will therefore proceed to Geneva, where I will tomorrow brief the secretary general on my mission and consult with him on next steps," he added.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh said on Saturday that Russia had sent 30 armoured personnel carriers and 6000 additional troops into Crimea.

Dozens of pro-Russian armed men in full combat gear patrolled outside the seat of power in Crimea's capital Simferopol.

Similar gunmen seized the city's parliament and government buildings on Thursday and took control of its airport and a nearby military base on Friday.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mario Balotelli: AC Milan reject claims the striker is about to leave

AC Milan have released a statement to deny speculation that Italy striker Mario Balotelli could leave in January. They were responding to reports in Italy that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi had decided to sell him. "AC Milan firmly and absolutely deny statements that have been attributed to the chairman about Mario Balotelli being put on the transfer list," the Serie A club's statement  said . The ex-Man City striker has scored six goals in 12 league games this season. He moved to the San Siro in January for an initial fee of 22m euros (£19m). Last season he racked up 12 goals for the seven-time European champions in only 13 Serie A appearances.
Post a Comment
Read more

Al-Jazeera demands Egypt release four journalists

  Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has demanded the release of four of its journalists seized by Egyptian police in Cairo at the weekend. They include its Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and former BBC correspondent Peter Greste. The journalists had held illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood, the interior ministry said. Al-Jazeera said it had been "subject to harassment" although not officially banned from working in Egypt. There has been a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July. Last week it was declared a terrorist group. In the past six months, more than 1,000 pro-Morsi protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces, and thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested, including the majority of its leadership. A court will hear a case to disband the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 15 February. 'Arbitrary' The four journ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Justin Bieber all over Selena Gomez at party

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were all over each other at a friend's birthday party. The 'Baby' hitmaker rented out the Lucky Strike bowling alley in Los Angeles on Sunday night for their pal Ryan Butler's intimate celebration, and couldn't keep his hands off the 'Come & Get It' singer at the party. A source told E! News: ''Justin rented out Lucky Strike's Luxe room for the celebration. Additionally, he was seen kissing and flirting with his on-and-off again girlfriend, Selena Gomez.'' The insider added: ''The group, of about 12 people in all, enjoyed some of Lucky Strike's Esteban's Nacho's Grande, Cheeseburgers and wings. Specifically, Justin was seen eating the Mac & Cheese bites.'' Ryan's girlfriend posted a photograph of Selena, 22, gazing at Justin, 20, on Instagram from the party. The Canadian star confirmed during a deposition last week that he has reunited with his on-again, off...
Post a Comment
Read more