UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s move to recognize two eastern Ukrainian separatist regions as independent on Monday as a violation of Kyiv’s sovereignty.
“The Secretary General is greatly concerned by the decision by the Russian Federation related to the status of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“The Secretary-General considers the decision of the Russian Federation to be a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
The United Nations chief hastily scrapped his schedule earlier Monday and raced back to headquarters in New York citing the deteriorating situation regarding Ukraine, Dujarric said.
His decision to return to New York came shortly after Russia announced that President Vladimir Putin will recognize Ukraine’s rebelling territories as an independent.
As a result, Guterres canceled a planned trip for Monday to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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