UN envoy to Crimea ends early after armed men stop representative

(Image credit: SEAN GALLUP/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

A United Nations envoy and an ITV News journalist were stopped by a group of armed men in Crimea, according to tweets from the reporter. James Mates tweeted that he and UN representative Robert Serry were threatened in a Simferopol coffee shop by pro-Russian men who asked Serry to enter a vehicle. He refused and left in a different waiting car. Serry headed to the airport where he agreed to leave the region if it eases the tension in Crimea.

UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson released a statement saying the "action should be seriously condemned." ITV News is continuously updating its blog with the latest. --Jordan Valinsky

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.

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