U.N., EU to Hold Emergency Meetings on Ukraine Crisis

The U.N. Security Council will meet Saturday for a second round of emergency consultations, officials said, after Russia's parliament approved the deployment of troops to Ukraine.

The president of the Security Council, currently Luxembourg, invited members to "informal consultations" at 1900 GMT, a statement said.

The announcement came just hours after Russian leader Vladimir Putin won approval from lawmakers to send Russian troops into Ukrainian territory.

Britain's ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, tweeted that the meeting was called at London's request.

The U.N. envoy to Ukraine, Robert Serry, announced earlier that he was leaving the country because it was impossible to visit Crimea as requested by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban ordered Serry to visit the Crimea in a bid to de-escalate tensions after an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday.

"I have since been in touch with the authorities of the autonomous republic of Crimea and have come to the conclusion that a visit to Crimea today is not possible," Serry said in a statement from Kiev.

"I will therefore proceed to Geneva, where I will tomorrow brief the secretary general on my mission and consult with him on next steps," he added.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers will hold a new round of crisis talks in Brussels on Monday on the rapidly escalating tensions in Ukraine, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Saturday.

"Ashton calls extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on developments in Ukraine. Monday, 3 March. Meeting starts 1300 CET," she said on Twitter.

Monday's EU huddle will be the second on Ukraine by the bloc's 28 diplomatic chiefs in less than two weeks after they agreed at emergency talks February 20 to impose sanctions on members of the Viktor Yanukovych regime deemed responsible for deaths and repression on the streets.

Ukraine's parliament ousted Yanukovych on February 22.