UN chief says use of military force in Ukraine a mistake

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his call for the implementation of the Geneva agreements on Ukraine and expects all the conflicting parties to cease futile actions and resume diplomatic efforts. Ban warned that any attempt to seek a military solution to the political crisis in Ukraine would be a grave mistake, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.

Military actions must be avoided at all costs, Ban said, otherwise the situation might spin out of control. The secretary general is concerned that 'situation could spin out of control with grave and unpredictable consequences.' The spokesman said that the UN chief reiterates his call to all sides to abide by agreements reached in Geneva. "He expects all sides to understand that the time is of the essence and therefore seize all unhelpful actions and instead reengage diplomatically to ensure full implementation now," Dujarric said.

Pro-federalization rallies have not been abating in eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk since March.

Protests later spread to more cities in the Donetsk region, including Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. In a bid to ease the mounting tensions, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union brokered an agreement in Geneva on April 17, calling on all sides to refrain from violence, disarm illegal armed groups and start negotiations on a constitutional reform.

The Ukrainian government announced last week the launch of a special anti-terrorist operation providing for the use of military force against demonstrators.

Moscow called the decision to use force against protesters an extremely dangerous development of events. Kiev-controlled military units announced 'a second phase' of the military operation, intended to block access to the rebel city of Slavyansk.

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