Business tycoon and president of System Capital Management Holding Rinat Akhmetov urges all his compatriots to join hands for the sake of a united and indivisible Ukraine.

"I declare with all responsibility that the SCM Group, which numbers 300,000 people today and represents Ukraine from the west to the east, from the north to the south, will do its best to preserve the integrity of our country," he said in a statement on Sunday.

Akhmetov appeals to politicians and the Ukrainian authorities to do everything possible to ensure territorial sovereignty, the restoration of democracy, citizens' essential rights and freedoms.

He says Ukraine's future is in jeopardy: the internal political tensions could translate into a protracted conflict and destroy the integrity of Ukraine.

"The use of force and illegal acts from outside are unacceptable. I believe there is only one solution to the crisis and [it is a] peaceful [solution]. It's important to keep a cool head, not to succumb to provocations and to take reasonable and well-considered decisions. Our strength is in synergy between businesses, government and society," Akhmetov said.

He says the economy nowadays is a real political force, therefore there is a task to ensure the safety of people, their families and the stability of work of all enterprises in the country.

"We will work 24 hours a day to maintain the life-supporting infrastructure in Ukraine. This is our main contribution to the country's integrity. I'm addressing the business community in Ukraine and business partners of Ukrainian businesses with the appeal to join efforts and facilitate a peaceful settlement [of the situation], sparing no material resources," Akhmetov said.

He says that he is sure that by joining hands people will be able to maintain a strong, united and independent Ukraine.

The SCM Group incorporates Metinvest mining and metallurgical holding, DTEK energy holding, banks FUIB and Renaissance Capital, insurers ASKA and ASKA-Life, Vega telecoms group, Ukraina media group, Segodnya Multimedia, ESTA Holding (real estate), Ukrainskiy Retail (retail), UMG (clay production), Parallel (the fuel market operator), HarvEast (agriculture), Corum Group (formerly Mining Machines), the Portinvest transport holding, and others.

A 100% stake in SCM is owned by Rinat Akhmetov.