KIEV: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk will address the United Nations Security Council about the situation in Crimea on Thursday, Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted him as saying on Monday.
Interfax also quoted him as telling reporters that he believed Russia, whose forces are in control of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, sought to “undermine the foundations of global security and revise the outcome of World War Two.”
Russia complains of lawlessness in eastern Ukraine
Russia's foreign ministry is denouncing alleged lawlessness by far-right activists in eastern Ukraine.
The statement, which also says Ukraine is blocking Russian citizens from entering the country, comes as Russian forces have taken effective control of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, where a referendum has been called for Sunday on whether the region should split off and seek to become part of Russia. Pro-Russia sentiment is also strong in Ukraine's east and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area.
In the Monday statement, the ministry said lawlessness ''now rules in eastern regions of Ukraine as a result of the actions of fighters of the so-called 'right sector' with the full connivance'' of Ukraine's new authorities.
Obama, Chinese president discuss Ukraine crisis: White House
Meanwhile in Washington, US President Barack Obama spoke late Sunday with Chinese President Xi Jinping about ways to peacefully resolve a tense crisis over control of Ukraine's Crimea region, the White House said.
“They affirmed their shared interest in reducing tensions and identifying a peaceful resolution to the dispute between Russia and Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement released on Monday.
“The two leaders agreed on the importance of upholding principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, both in the context of Ukraine and also for the broader functioning of the international system,” the White House said. “The president noted his overriding objective of restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring the Ukrainian people are able to determine their own future without foreign interference.”
Obama and Xi's discussion of the Crimea standoff came just days ahead of a planned meeting in Washington Wednesday between the US leader and Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The escalating standoff, the most explosive East-West crisis since the Cold War, led Obama to announce travel bans and an asset freeze on Russia officials held responsible for endangering the territorial integrity of Ukraine.