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| U.S. Official Tells Ukraine’s Protest Leaders to Find a Solution | U.S. Official Tells Ukraine’s Protest Leaders to Find a Solution |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| KIEV, Ukraine — A senior American official urged the leaders of the Ukrainian protest movement on Thursday to find a solution to the crisis that would adhere to the Ukrainian Constitution — effectively telling them that President Viktor F. Yanukovich must remain in power despite the demands by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators for his ouster. | KIEV, Ukraine — A senior American official urged the leaders of the Ukrainian protest movement on Thursday to find a solution to the crisis that would adhere to the Ukrainian Constitution — effectively telling them that President Viktor F. Yanukovich must remain in power despite the demands by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators for his ouster. |
| The official, Victoria Nuland, who is assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met with top protest leaders in the occupied Trades Union building here that has become a de facto headquarters for the swirling protest movement. Even as the meeting unfolded, more than 10,000 demonstrators thronged Independence Square outside. | The official, Victoria Nuland, who is assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met with top protest leaders in the occupied Trades Union building here that has become a de facto headquarters for the swirling protest movement. Even as the meeting unfolded, more than 10,000 demonstrators thronged Independence Square outside. |
| Ms. Nuland is in Ukraine to attend the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in place of Secretary of State John Kerry, who canceled plans to attend after Mr. Yanukovich’s refused to sign sweeping political and free trade agreements with the European Union that had been in the works for years. | Ms. Nuland is in Ukraine to attend the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in place of Secretary of State John Kerry, who canceled plans to attend after Mr. Yanukovich’s refused to sign sweeping political and free trade agreements with the European Union that had been in the works for years. |
| Ms. Nuland’s comments at the meeting, those in attendance said, echoed her formal remarks at the ministerial conference. | Ms. Nuland’s comments at the meeting, those in attendance said, echoed her formal remarks at the ministerial conference. |
| In a speech to the conference that was filled with lofty rhetoric, her bottom line was this: “Democratic norms and the rule of law must be upheld,” Ms. Nuland said. | In a speech to the conference that was filled with lofty rhetoric, her bottom line was this: “Democratic norms and the rule of law must be upheld,” Ms. Nuland said. |
| She pointedly did not mention Mr. Yanukovich, and several participants in the meeting said it was clear that Ms. Nuland was not expressing support for him. At the same time, the implications of her strong statement on the rule of law were clear. | |
| Complicating the effort to address the unrest in Ukraine is the country’s severe economic crisis, which will require a financial aid package of some $17 billion or more. That has made Ukraine particularly vulnerable to foreign influence as officials look to virtually every big power — Russia, China, Europe and the United States — for potential help. | Complicating the effort to address the unrest in Ukraine is the country’s severe economic crisis, which will require a financial aid package of some $17 billion or more. That has made Ukraine particularly vulnerable to foreign influence as officials look to virtually every big power — Russia, China, Europe and the United States — for potential help. |
| It is not yet clear where that help will come from. | It is not yet clear where that help will come from. |
| European leaders have said they will not engage in a bidding war with the Kremlin for influence over Ukraine. At the same time, Ms. Nuland made clear that the United States disapproved of Mr. Yanukovich’s decision not to sign the accords with Europe. | European leaders have said they will not engage in a bidding war with the Kremlin for influence over Ukraine. At the same time, Ms. Nuland made clear that the United States disapproved of Mr. Yanukovich’s decision not to sign the accords with Europe. |
| “There should be no doubt about where the United States stands on this,” she said. “We stand with the people of Ukraine who see their future in Europe and want to bring their country back to economic health and unity.” | “There should be no doubt about where the United States stands on this,” she said. “We stand with the people of Ukraine who see their future in Europe and want to bring their country back to economic health and unity.” |
| Other foreign diplomats, including the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, have used the occasion of the ministerial conference to meet with opposition leaders. But the meeting with Ms. Nuland effectively drew a new reality for the protest leaders. They include a pro-Western businessman, Petro Poroshenko, and the leaders of the three main opposition parties in Parliament: Arseniy P. Yatseniuk of the Fatherland coalition; the champion boxer Vitali Klitschko of the Udar party; and Oleg Tyagnybok, the leader of the nationalist Svoboda Party. | |
| Also in attendance were Yuri V. Lutsenko, a former interior minister and field commander of the 2004 Orange Revolution, and Evgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of Ukraine’s jailed former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko. Ms. Nuland was accompanied by the American ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt. | |
| Ms. Nuland’s strong message in support of a constitutional solution has forced the protest leaders to confront the likelihood that they will be unable to oust Mr. Yanukovich. They could, however, still achieve another of their top goals with the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azararov and his government. | |
| Mr. Yanukovich’s decision, under heavy pressure from Russia, to reject the accords with the European Union, set off the protest movement, which gained momentum after a violent crackdown by riot police on several hundred demonstrators early Saturday morning. | |
| Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Kiev last Sunday, and since then demonstrators have occupied not only the landmark Independence Square, where they have set up barriers around a wide perimeter, but also City Hall and several other public buildings, including the Trades Union building where Thursday’s meeting took place. | Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Kiev last Sunday, and since then demonstrators have occupied not only the landmark Independence Square, where they have set up barriers around a wide perimeter, but also City Hall and several other public buildings, including the Trades Union building where Thursday’s meeting took place. |
| The protesters are a loose coalition of opposition political parties, civic organizations and student groups. No one leader has emerged — indeed the three party leaders are rivals — and so substantial internal negotiation is expected before there is any formal response to the position expressed by Ms. Nuland. | The protesters are a loose coalition of opposition political parties, civic organizations and student groups. No one leader has emerged — indeed the three party leaders are rivals — and so substantial internal negotiation is expected before there is any formal response to the position expressed by Ms. Nuland. |
| The civic and student groups have been particularly skeptical all along that the established politicians would be able to deliver the results they seek. | The civic and student groups have been particularly skeptical all along that the established politicians would be able to deliver the results they seek. |
| The prospect of a solution that leaves Mr. Yanukovich in power, at least until the next presidential election in 2015, and would allow him to run as planned for a second five-year term, is unlikely to sit well with any of the protest leaders or the tens of thousands of people on the street. After promising for more than a year that he would sign the accords with the European Union, he is now widely distrusted. | The prospect of a solution that leaves Mr. Yanukovich in power, at least until the next presidential election in 2015, and would allow him to run as planned for a second five-year term, is unlikely to sit well with any of the protest leaders or the tens of thousands of people on the street. After promising for more than a year that he would sign the accords with the European Union, he is now widely distrusted. |
| Nowhere is that antipathy toward him stronger than among supporters of Ms. Tymoshenko, the former prime minister, whose prosecution and seven-year sentence on abuse of authority charges has been widely criticized in the West as an effort by Mr. Yankovich to sideline his main political rival. | Nowhere is that antipathy toward him stronger than among supporters of Ms. Tymoshenko, the former prime minister, whose prosecution and seven-year sentence on abuse of authority charges has been widely criticized in the West as an effort by Mr. Yankovich to sideline his main political rival. |
| “What European leaders understand now is they are dealing with a person who cheats them and who lies,” Evgenia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister’s daughter, said in an interview on Thursday. “There can be no negotiation with a person who cheats and lies.” | “What European leaders understand now is they are dealing with a person who cheats them and who lies,” Evgenia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister’s daughter, said in an interview on Thursday. “There can be no negotiation with a person who cheats and lies.” |
| Protest leaders, however, may not have a choice. While it is possible to dissolve the government, Western officials say they see no legal means, within the existing Ukrainian Constitution, to remove Mr. Yanukovich from office. | Protest leaders, however, may not have a choice. While it is possible to dissolve the government, Western officials say they see no legal means, within the existing Ukrainian Constitution, to remove Mr. Yanukovich from office. |
| Ms. Nuland’s remarks effectively throw cold water on the calls by some Ukrainian officials, including the Parliament speaker, Volodymyr Rybak, for so-called round-table talks, using the same phrase for negotiations that helped resolve the Orange Revolution nine years ago. | Ms. Nuland’s remarks effectively throw cold water on the calls by some Ukrainian officials, including the Parliament speaker, Volodymyr Rybak, for so-called round-table talks, using the same phrase for negotiations that helped resolve the Orange Revolution nine years ago. |