Egypt seeks Arab League meeting on Ukrainian crisis

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss the Ukrainian crisis following a Russian military attack in the European country.

A statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the meeting will discuss current developments in Ukraine.

No date, however, has been set for the meeting.

The Cairo-based pan-Arab body has yet to confirm the meeting.

Most Arab countries have called on both Russia and Ukraine to resort to dialogue to resolve their conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy its neighbor, but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenkskyy pledged to defend the country, the West announced sanctions against Moscow, including measures targeting Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

According to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, more than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed into neighboring countries, including Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar