SEOUL: South Korea's Foreign Ministry has issued 'grave concern' over the Ukraine crisis and called for related nations to respect the Minsk agreement while finding a diplomatic solution.
Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam also said Tuesday that diplomats were still trying to persuade 63 South Korean nationals who currently remain in Ukraine to leave the country.
There were around 600 South Koreans in Ukraine at the end of January.
"Our government has consistently supported Ukraine's sovereignty and the preservation of its territory," Choi said during a briefing, reiterating President Moon Jae-in's comments during an earlier national security meeting.
"Our government strongly calls for related nations to pursue peaceful resolutions based on respect for international law and the Minsk agreement," Choi said.
He was referring to a 2015 ceasefire arrangement signed between Russia and Ukraine at the Belarusian capital following months of bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Moon during the earlier meeting called for officials to prepare for an economic fallout in South Korea if the Ukraine crisis is prolonged and the US-led West imposes stringent economic sanctions on Ukraine.
United Nations: Russia's UN ambassador has accused the United States and its Western allies of egging Ukraine toward an armed provocation.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday night, Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine of sharply increasing shelling in residential areas of the separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions and in Russian towns and villages near the border.
He said Ukraine has concentrated a 120,000-strong military contingent along the contact line with pro-Russian separatists in the east and subversive groups have penetrated or tried to penetrate the territory known as the Donbas to sabotage critical infrastructure.
"So it has become clear that Donbas is on the brink of a new Ukrainian military adventure as was already the case in 2014 and 2015," he said.
Nebenzia said that's why President Vladimir Putin announced earlier on Monday that Russia will recognise Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states and is putting Russian troops into the two states as peacekeepers.
The separatist authorities said Monday that at least four civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling over the past 24 hours, and several others were wounded.
Ukraine's military said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed over the weekend, and another serviceman was wounded Monday.
Ukrainian military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchyuk insisted that Ukrainian forces weren't returning fire.
Nebenzia said Russia was open to diplomacy but wouldn't allow 'a new bloodbath in the Donbas,' urging the United States and other Western nations to not worsen the situation.
Seoul: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday issued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territory amid fears of an imminent invasion by Russia and called for related nations to resolve the situation through dialogue.
In an emergency meeting with national security and economic officials, Moon instructed them to prepare for the economic fallout in South Korea if the Ukraine crisis is prolonged and the US-led West imposes stringent economic sanctions on Russia.
Moon during the part of his comments released to the media didn't directly criticise Russia.
But he noted that the United States and other Western nations have condemned Russian plans to deploy troops in separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as a violation of international law and an infringement of Ukraine's sovereignty and territory.
"Ukraine's sovereignty and territory must be respected," Moon added.
It would not be ideal if the situation in Ukraine worsens into a military clash against the wishes of the international community.
That would bring huge ramifications in the politics and economy of not only Europe, but to the whole world.