Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russia on Tuesday of seeking to undermine the world security system by its incursion into Crimea, Reuters reported.
Yatseniuk, who travels to the United States on Thursday for talks with President Barack Obama, said of the crisis on the Crimea peninsula where Russian forces are backing separatists:
"This is not a two-sided conflict. These are actions by the Russian Federation aimed at undermining the system of global security."
Yatseniuk told parliament that Ukraine remained open for "transparent" negotiations with Russia to build a new relationship in which Moscow recognized Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
As a result of protests in Ukraine, the country's President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted on Feb. 22. The Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has approved the new composition of the parliament and is preparing to hold pre-term elections.
On Feb. 26 several thousand people participating in two rallies gathered in front of Supreme Council of Crimea. After the escalation of the protest actions in Crimea, the Federation Council supported President Vladimir Putin's appeal regarding the use of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine pending "the normalization of the socio-political situation in that country".
Leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the U.S., as well as chairman of the European Council and the chairman of the European Commission made a joint statement condemning Russia's position on Ukraine and canceled the preparations for the G8 summit in Sochi, scheduled for June 2014.