Ukraine 'on edge' with fast-moving, serious challenges: UN

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said on Thursday that Ukraine is "on edge" and grappling with a number of fast-moving and serious challenges, while the situation in the country's capital is "stable."

Ukraine crisis

Eliasson, who is currently in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, made the remarks as he briefed the United Nations Security Council by teleconference on the situation in the country.

He told Council members that he had held talks with Ukrainian authorities, including the Acting President, the Prime Minister and the Acting Foreign Minister, according to a note issued by the UN spokesperson office on the closed-door briefing.

"Eliasson said that he had encountered a country on edge which is grappling with a series of fast-moving and serious challenges," said the note.

He commended the restraint displayed by the Ukrainian people and the authorities and their efforts to maintain the calm.

At the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Eliasson departed on Sunday to Ukraine to assist to de-escalate a dangerous situation and to assess the situation on the ground.

The Thursday briefing was the first time Eliasson addressed the 15-member Council since he arrived in Ukraine on Monday.

"While the situation in Kiev is stable, there have been disturbing reports from some parts of the country, primarily from Crimea," the deputy secretary-general told the Security Council.

He cited examples such as blockades of Ukrainian military bases by armed elements with no insignias and attempts to intimidate international representatives, including the UN Secretary-General' s Special Advisor, Robert Serry.

Eliasson said that in all of his meetings in Ukraine, he had underlined the urgent need for de-escalation and for a political solution to the country's current crisis.

The UN deputy chief emphasized the need for "unity, diversity and inclusion" in Ukraine, and the importance that all parts of the country and all segments of the population have a sense of participation in building their future.

He noted that "the secretary-general remains actively engaged on the situation in Ukraine, reaching out to key international actors on the urgent need to find a political solution."

Eliasson then informed the Security Council that UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, had just arrived in Kiev, following a request by the secretary-general to immediately travel to Ukraine.

He further informed that Simonovic would visit the East, West and South of the country, including Crimea, to evaluate the current human rights situation.

The Ukrainian crisis, which originated from protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's decision last November to abandon an association agreement with the European Union and instead seek Russian aid, took an abrupt turn in the past two weeks following bloody clashes between protesters and police. Yanukovych then fled Kiev.