Russia boycotts UNSC meeting on Crimea

Russia has boycotted an informal UN Security Council meeting on Crimea, saying the region is now a Russian territory and no longer an issue on the council’s agenda.

Russia’s UN Mission called the Monday meeting organized by Lithuania with Crimea’s Tatar minority as “inappropriate” and another international attempt to distract attention from “the grave situation in Ukraine.”

It also said the meeting on human rights and media freedom in Crimea was designed not to give an objective account of events in the region, “but to stage a biased propaganda show.”

The Russian mission said the meeting undermined the “standing” and “image” of the UN’s most powerful body.

Meanwhile, Lithuania’s UN Deputy Ambassador Rita Kazragien dismissed Russia’s criticism, describing Crimea’s recent referendum to rejoin Russia as illegal.

The Ukrainian crisis began last November, after the country’s then president, Viktor Yanukovych, refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with neighboring Russia.

The refusal triggered months of unrest and clashes with the police, which finally led to the ouster of Yanukovych on February 23. He then travelled to Russia, where he was given sanctuary.

Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following the referendum on March 16, in which nearly 97 percent of Crimeans voted for reunion with Russia.