Kiev seeks NATO's help in light of Russia's move to deploy troops in the Crimea to defend the Russian-speaking population of the republic.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced the convening of emergency meetings of the North Atlantic Council and the NATO-Ukraine Commission. They will take place in Brussels on Sunday, March 2.
On March 1, Russian senators unanimously approved the address of Russian President Vladimir Putin about the deployment of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine to normalize the situation in the country.
Meanwhile, the Russian President discussed the situation in Ukraine in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Barack Obama. The conversation took place at the initiative of the American side. "In response to Barack Obama's concerns about Russia's plans on the possible use of Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin drew Mr. Obama's attention to provocative criminal acts of ultranationalist groups, whom, in fact, the present authorities in Kiev support," statement released by the press service of the Kremlin said.