(CNN) -- Tensions smoldered in Ukraine, and in capitals around the world on Monday, as Russian troops consolidated their hold on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, global stocks slipped on fears things could get worse and diplomats grasped for a way to stop the situation from escalating.
At an emergency U.N.
Security Council meeting to discuss the unfolding crisis, diplomats
asked Russia to withdraw its troops and called for mediation.
Russia's envoy said his
country's aim in Ukraine is to stop radical extremists who are
destabilizing the country -- adding that ousted Ukrainian President
Viktor Yanukovych had asked Russia to send troops.
The United States' ambassador accused Russia of breaking international law and responding to an "imaginary threat."
Russian Ambassador Vitaly
Churkin read a letter from Yanukovych at the meeting, describing
Ukraine as a country "on the brink of civil war," plagued by "chaos and
anarchy."
"I would call on the
President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of
the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order,
stability, and defending the people of Ukraine," the letter said.
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