UN Security Council sets urgent meeting on Ukraine

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine.

New York: The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday morning on Ukraine.

Britain`s UN Mission said yesterday it requested the meeting and later tweeted that it is set for 10 am today. The request follows Wednesday`s downing of a Ukrainian air force fighter and yesterday`s downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 295 people over eastern Ukraine. Britain has proposed a Security Council press statement calling for "a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident." The statement, obtained by a news agency, was circulated to all 15 council members, who must approve it before it can be issued. Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "There is clearly a need for a full and transparent international investigation" into the plane crash in Ukraine. Ban said during a media event that the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency, is closely monitoring the disaster involving the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 295 people. "I offer my deep condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and people of Malaysia," Ban added. Both Ukraine`s government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region have denied any responsibility for downing the aircraft. Ukraine`s UN Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev tweeted after yesterday`s crash in a rebel-controlled area that "Ukraine will present the evidence of Russian military involvement into the Boeing crash. This crime should be fully investigated."