Ban travels to Russia, Ukraine to ease crisis over Crimea

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travels this afternoon to the Russian Federation and Ukraine as part of his diplomatic efforts to encourage all parties to resolve the current crisis over Crimea peacefully, his press office announced on Wednesday."The Secretary-General has consistently called for a solution that is guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter," a statement announcing the trip said.The visit comes one day after Russia claimed the peninsula as its own, and as Russian-speaking troops seized theUkrainian naval headquarters in Crimea and detained the Ukrainian navy commander.Ban will first visit Moscow, where tomorrow Thursday he will meet with President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials.On Friday, he is scheduled to travel to Kiev, where he will hold talks with Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and other officials.While in the Ukrainian capital, Ban will also meet with members of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission, and representatives of civil society.