Yanukovych offers few concessions at crisis talks with Ukraine's opposition
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Version 0 of 1. The Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, has made few concessions during crisis talks with the opposition, his first direct attempt to defuse weeks of unrest following a policy swerve away from Europe to Russia. The meeting on Friday came as protesters streamed into Kiev from mainly western regions for a mass rally on Sunday, boosting thousands already camped out in Independence Square, focal point of recent demonstrations. Moscow repeated its demand that the European Union keep out of Ukrainian affairs, with the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, saying Kiev must avoid a "tectonic split". The appearance of European politicians at the protests was a "crude interference" in Ukraine's affairs, he said. The EU foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton, and Europe's foreign ministers have visited protest sites in Kiev in recent weeks. Yanukovych began talks with the opposition to try to find a way out of the conflict which has put Ukraine at the centre of an east-west tug of war. But with the opposition insisting his government steps down, the talks seemed unlikely to head off another outpouring of anger against him on Sunday. "This roundtable was simply a declaration and not a single step was made to meet the opposition. I have the impression that the authorities today did not listen to a single one of the demands of the opposition," said world boxing champion and opposition politician Vitali Klitschko. Despite talks in Brussels aimed at securing financial aid from the EU for his near-bankrupt country, Yanukovych still appeared on course on Friday to fly to Moscow on 17 December to complete a trade agreement which the opposition fears could close the door for closer ties with Europe. The Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, fell by 0.4 percent on Friday to 8.31 to the dollar – its lowest level since 2009 – as the anti-government protests continued to affect the financial markets. The Ukraine crisis began on 21 November when Yanukovych's government pulled out of a landmark trade-and-political agreement with the EU after years of preparation and announced Kiev was reviving trade relations instead with Moscow. Since then the Ukrainian capital has been roiled by pro-Europe rallies, involving hundreds of thousands of people at the weekends. The demonstrators accuse Yanukovych of turning the clock back and selling out national interests to the Kremlin. The opposition leaders indicated they would insist the president meet their core demands which include the dismissal of the government and early elections. "We will pass on to him your demands. We will fight for our common victory," Arseny Yatsenyuk, a former economy minister, told crowds in Independence Square which is known colloquially as the Maidan. Yatsenyuk was flanked by two other opposition leaders, Klitschko and far-right nationalist Oleh Tyahnybok. In remarks during the roundtable Yanukovych sought to take a neutral stance in the conflict which has involved heavy-handed police action against peaceful protesters that has drawn condemnation from the international community. "Any instability negatively influences not only the image of the country but the life of people, the stability of the economy which is very unsteady," he said. "I am outraged by the radical acts which have taken place on the Maidan, as much as from provocateurs as from the security bodies which did not behave correctly." He defended his policy shift, repeating that Ukraine's economic ills could not be cured without "restoration of normal trade relations with Russia". In a gesture of appeasement, Yanukovych said he would propose an amnesty for those detained at recent protests – but he made no indication of sacking the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, as demanded by the opposition. At the roundtable talks, Yatsenyuk was insistent that interior minister, who is held responsible by the protesters for excessive force by police, was dismissed as well. "Those who gave the criminal orders and those who carried them out must bear responsibility so that the whole country can see that no one can lay a hand on peaceful people ... This government personally carries responsibility for the political and economic crisis," he said. The protests in Ukraine began as pro-Europe demonstrations but have now morphed into a broader protest against perceived corruption and sleaze. Demonstrators have rebuilt barricades, torn down by police, using public benches, metal barriers and wire-netting to fence off Independence Square. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |