The United States and allies including France have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later Monday on Russia's recognition of separatist territories in Ukraine as independent, diplomats told AFP.
The countries behind the request for the meeting, based on a letter from Ukraine to the UN, also include the United Kingdom, Ireland and Albania, the same sources said.
It is up to the rotating presidency of the Council, currently held by Russia, to formally schedule the meeting.
In the letter, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya cites the UN Charter and rules of procedure to demand that a representative from his country be at any emergency meeting.
The letter, addressed to the Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia and obtained by AFP, also asks that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres participate in the emergency session, as well as a representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she supports an emergency meeting.
"The Security Council must demand that Russia respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a UN Member State," she said in a statement.
"Russia's announcement is nothing more than theater, apparently designed to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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