UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that there is not much time left to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis in Ukraine and called all the parties of the confrontation to dialogue.

At a press conference in Munich on Saturday, answering a question of Interfax-Ukraine when the UN may start to mediate in the settlement of the political conflict in Ukraine, Ban chose not to predict the timeframe for such participation. Instead, he said that Ukraine should focus on the search for a peaceful solution to the situation through dialogue within the country.

In his words, it is important that Ukrainians should find a peaceful solution to the situation through dialogue. The freedom of expression and freedom of assembly should be protected by the government, he added.

Ban said that there was not much time left, the longer it took to find the solution, the more human rights violations and fatalities there would be.

The UN secretary general urged all parties to sit down together and find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

He recalled that not so long ago he sent his special envoy to Ukraine, who briefed Ban during the Munich Conference about the latest developments in Ukraine.

Ban called on the Ukrainian government to take decisive measures to de-escalate the situation.