Finland Times

The Finland Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja on Sunday said that the situation in Eastern Ukraine is extremely serious.

Tuomioja also emphasised to keep the door open for dialogue with the view for an amicable political solution of the crisis.

The situation in Eastern Ukraine cannot be compared to the events in Crimea, observed the Finnish Foreign Minister while talking to STT on Ukraine situation.

"I think the situation in Crimea and in Eastern Ukraine are slightly different issues," said Tuomioja adding that it is hard to think that primary objective is to cause East Ukraine to become part

of Russia.

Tuomioja also said that it was quite clear that the events in Eastern Ukraine are planned operations and the situation did not just appear spontaneously.

He said it is unclear, whether the actions are intended to provoke and form basis for a wider military intervention or are they directed to pave way for negotiations.

The Ukraine has reacted so far moderately but pretext for further actions might be justified due to loss of lives, the Finnish Foreign Minister added.

Meanwhile, the NATO Chief on Sunday called Russia for withdrawal of its majority troops while the Russian authorities termed the situation in South-eastern Ukraine dangerous.

News Agency Xinhua Adds:  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Sunday showed concerns over the tension in Eastern Ukraine, urging Russia to de-escalate the crisis.

 "I am extremely concerned about the further escalation of tension in Eastern Ukraine. We see a concerted campaign of violence by pro-Russian separatists, aiming to destabilize Ukraine as a

sovereign state," Rasmussen said in a statement.

 "I call on Russia to de-escalate the crisis and pull back its large number of troops, including special forces, from the area around Ukraine's border," he added.

 "If Russia is serious about its desire to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, it should stop blaming others for its own actions, pull back its troops, step back into line with its international

obligations and start rebuilding trust," Rasmussen also argued in an article entitled "De-escalation starts on the ground" published on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that the situation in south-eastern Ukraine is taking a dangerous turn.

A security officer and a pro-Russia activist were killed Sunday during a raid launched by Ukrainian special forces in an eastern city, where pro-Russia gunmen seized buildings of police and

security services a day earlier.

Russian foreign ministry called it "outrageous" the Ukrainian acting President Alexandr Turchynov's order to use the armed forces for quelling protests.

"The Russian side is bringing up the crisis in south-eastern Ukraine for urgent discussion at the UN Security Council and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)," the

ministry said in an online statement.

Russia demanded that the Maidan organizers "who overthrew the legitimate president" immediately stop the war against their own people and fulfil all obligations under the February 21

agreement.

Meanwhile, Moscow urged the Maidan party's Western sponsors as well as the United States to "subdue their unruly followers, distance themselves from the neo-Nazis and other extremists,"

it added.

Russia called for an end to the use of the military against the Ukrainian people and the start of a national dialogue for the sake of early and radical constitutional reform in Ukraine, said the

ministry.

A new wave of unrest erupted in Ukraine's east last weekend, when pro-Moscow activists seized several government buildings in the cities of Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov, demanding a

referendum on autonomy and closer ties with Russia.

On March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty to make the southern peninsula part of Russian territory after almost 97 percent of Crimean voters backed

secession from Ukraine in a referendum.

Kiev has rejected the referendum and Crimea's integration with Russia, saying it was unconstitutional.