Eurasia Press & News
The United Nations Security Council has failed to reach a consensus on the Ukraine crisis despite having met for the fifth time in 10 days on Monday.
France’s UN Permanent Representative, Gérard Araud, told reporters after the meeting that the situation in Ukraine was “worsening by the day”.
“The Russian army is reinforcing its presence in Crimea. The Russian army – as you know – now is besieging and storming installations of the Ukrainian army,” Araud said.
He added that the upcoming referendum in Crimea was “very dangerous”.
On March 6, Crimea’s regional parliament voted to join the Russian Federation, asking Moscow to begin a procedure for Crimea to become a constituent territory. It has scheduled a referendum on the issue for March 16.
“All the signals sent from Moscow are that Russia is ready to recognize the results of the referendum. So it is very dangerous,” Araud said.
He stressed that the meeting was, in a sense, “a call to the Russians to avoid going down this road, and to enter into negotiations”.
