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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| EU halts work on Ukraine trade deal | EU halts work on Ukraine trade deal |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The European Union has suspended work on an association agreement with Ukraine after failing to get a "clear commitment" from President Viktor Yanukovych to sign it. | |
| Mr Yanukovych - apparently under pressure from Russia - backed out of signing the trade deal in November. | |
| But Ukraine and the EU had said they would continue negotiating. | But Ukraine and the EU had said they would continue negotiating. |
| Some 200,000 people turned out in Kiev on Sunday to protest against Mr Yanukovych's failure to sign. | |
| News agency estimates of the size of the crowd at Independence Square ranged from 150,000 to 300,000. | |
| This is the latest in a series of demonstrations over the past few weeks by the opposition who see Ukraine's future as part of the EU rather than aligned with Russia. | This is the latest in a series of demonstrations over the past few weeks by the opposition who see Ukraine's future as part of the EU rather than aligned with Russia. |
| Sunday's protests are taking place near a much smaller pro-government rally, raising fears of possible clashes between the two groups, the BBC's David Stern reports from Kiev. | |
| The series of protests, the largest since Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, is designed to push Mr Yanukovych to dismiss his government and call fresh elections, opposition leaders say. | |
| Makeshift barriers around the perimeter of the main protest encampment on Independence Square have been strengthened following an attempt by special police to dismantle them earlier this week. | |
| Opposition leaders have urged protesters to remain vigilant, fearing "provocateurs" could trigger clashes between rival demonstrators. | Opposition leaders have urged protesters to remain vigilant, fearing "provocateurs" could trigger clashes between rival demonstrators. |
| 'Work on hold' | |
| The EU's frustration at the Ukrainian president's position on reaching a deal with the bloc was evident in a tweet from EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele announcing the suspension of talks. | The EU's frustration at the Ukrainian president's position on reaching a deal with the bloc was evident in a tweet from EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele announcing the suspension of talks. |
| "Work on hold," he tweeted, adding that he had told Deputy PM Serhiy Arbuzov that Ukraine needed to show a "clear commitment to sign". | |
| Mr Yanukovych has said he fears the association and trade agreement will put at risk many enterprises dependent on trade with Russia. | Mr Yanukovych has said he fears the association and trade agreement will put at risk many enterprises dependent on trade with Russia. |
| The president - who says he eventually aims to sign the deal - has also admitted being under heavy pressure from Moscow, which wants Kiev to join a Russian-led customs union instead. | The president - who says he eventually aims to sign the deal - has also admitted being under heavy pressure from Moscow, which wants Kiev to join a Russian-led customs union instead. |
| He has said the EU would need to provide at least 20bn euros (£17bn; $27bn) a year to upgrade Ukraine's economy. | He has said the EU would need to provide at least 20bn euros (£17bn; $27bn) a year to upgrade Ukraine's economy. |
| Moscow has already put economic pressure on Ukraine, with customs delays and a ban on Ukrainian chocolates, and there are concerns it could escalate such measures if Kiev drew closer to Brussels. | Moscow has already put economic pressure on Ukraine, with customs delays and a ban on Ukrainian chocolates, and there are concerns it could escalate such measures if Kiev drew closer to Brussels. |
| 'Slaves of Europe' | |
| A leading voice on United States foreign policy, Republican Senator John McCain, is in Kiev where he addressed the pro-EU protesters. | |
| "Ukraine will make Europe better and Europe will make Ukraine better," he told them. | "Ukraine will make Europe better and Europe will make Ukraine better," he told them. |
| "We are here to support your just cause, the sovereign right of Ukraine to determine its own destiny freely and independently. And the destiny you seek lies in Europe," he said. | "We are here to support your just cause, the sovereign right of Ukraine to determine its own destiny freely and independently. And the destiny you seek lies in Europe," he said. |
| One unnamed protester in the crowd told the Associated Press news agency: "I have come here to defend my rights. | |
| "My little nine-month-old child is waiting for me at home, and I don't want the government to steal his future. And of course, we want to join the EU." | |
| President Yanukovych, who was elected in 2010, retains strong support outside Kiev, in the south and east of Ukraine. | |
| At Sunday's pro-government demonstration in a Kiev park, demonstrator Maria Nikolayeva, 18, told Reuters news agency: "We are here to support the president and order. Yanukovych is our best prospect at the moment." | |
| Another demonstrator, 43-year-old Sergei Antonovich, told AP why he rejected the association agreement. | |
| "We'll become the slaves of Europe if we go into it," he said. "Look at history - only union with Russia can save Ukraine from catastrophe." | |
| The pro-Yanukovych rally attracted fewer than 5,000 people. |