UN calls for de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine as Russia reportedly takes control of the autonomous region of Crimea.

“It is now of utmost importance to restore calm and to de-escalate tensions immediately through dialogue,” Ban told a news conference in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday before holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The UN chief is expected to call on the top Russian diplomat to refrain from moves that would further worsen the situation in crisis-hit Ukraine.

Ban also added that the UN is ready to provide both sides involved in the Ukraine crisis with anything needed in order to defuse current tensions.

“I will urge that the Russian Federation refrain from any acts and rhetoric that could further escalate the situation and instead to engage constructively and through peaceful means with Ukraine,” he said.
Furthermore, the UN official noted that his deputy Jan Eliasson is currently in the Ukrainian capital Kiev to convey his message to authorities of the former Soviet Republic.

The remarks come a day after reports suggesting that hundreds of Russian troops were heading for Crimea in Southern Ukraine.

New Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk described Russia’s military deployment to the region as “a declaration of war.”

Ukraine has plunged into crisis since November 2013, when ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.