A pro-Russian man wearing the Russian national flag walks past an entrance to the General Staff Headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy as unidentified gunmen stand outside in Sevastopol, Ukraine, Monday, March 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Andrew Lubimov
March 03, 2014 - 2:21 AM
GENEVA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russian troops that have streamed into Ukraine are protecting his country's citizens living there.
Lavrov said on Monday that it's necessary to use Russian troops in Ukraine "until the normalization of the political situation."
He told an opening session Monday of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that Russia is committed to human rights and "military interventions on the pretext of civilian population produce the opposite effect."
Ukraine has accused Russia of a military invasion, and has called on Kremlin to withdraw its troops.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014