Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk appealed to the UN Security Council that Russia’s actions violate the UN Charter.
Yatsenyuk addressed the council on Thursday. It was the council’s 6th session on Ukraine this month.
Yatsenyuk said Russia’s actions violate Article 2 of the UN Charter, which bans the threat of force against the territorial integrity and independence of any state.
He said Ukraine hopes for a resolution through dialogue with Russia.
Yatsenyuk said he was convinced that Russian people don’t want war and therefore the Ukrainian military is restraining its activities.
Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin reaffirmed his country’s position that the confusion in Ukraine was caused by the interim government who violently purged the democratically elected president, and the Western countries that supported it.
Tension is rising in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea. A referendum is scheduled for Sunday to allow voters to decide whether the region should leave Ukraine and join Russia. Russia approves of the vote. But Western nations disapprove of it.
Western nations have indicated their intention to submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that calls for defending the sovereignty and territory of Ukraine, before the referendum on Sunday.
Source: NHK
