Russia has boycotted an informal Security council meeting with members of Crimea's Tatar minority organized by Lithuania, calling it "inappropriate" and another international attempt to distract attention from "the grave situation in Ukraine."

Russia, which sent troops into the Crimean Peninsula and annexed the strategic Black Sea region on March 21, said Monday's meeting on human rights and media freedom in Crimea was designed not to give an objective account of events in the region "but to stage a biased propaganda show."

Lithuania's UN deputy ambassador Rita Kazragien countered that many Security Council members consider the referendum on Crimea's status illegal and don't recognize its annexation.

She said the meeting gave members their first opportunity to hear the Crimean Tatars' concerns about media impartiality and minority rights.