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The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore T.D., will travel to Brussels tomorrow to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine with EU foreign ministers.

The emergency meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council was called following developments in Crimea.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Tánaiste said:

"I am deeply concerned at developments over the weekend which severely threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. I call on the Russian Federation to abide by international law and to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence as it is obliged to do. This is in the interests of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the international community as a whole.

All parties must work to ensure that, through dialogue, all legitimate concerns are addressed."

This is the second emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers to address the situation in Ukraine in recent weeks. The Foreign Affairs Council first convened for emergency talks on February 20 when a decision was made to impose sanctions on members of President Viktor Yanukovych's government.