Brussels, 03/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced on 3 December when addressing his parliament that Ukraine would pursue its path towards European integration and that a government “delegation will be in Brussels next week”. The spokesman for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton was not able to confirm the information, saying that the date and the level of representation were not yet known and that this will be determined through diplomatic channels. Thorbjörn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, will for his part be in Kiev on 4 December to meet the leaders of the parliamentary parties, the president of the parliament, the prime minister and the foreign minister.
Apologies for violence. During his speech at the Rada, in Russian, Azarov also said: “On behalf of our government, I would like to apologise for the actions of our law enforcement authorities. (…) The president and the government deeply regret that this has happened”. He went on to specify that he would draw firm conclusions from events and that there would be a ministerial reshuffle. He appealed to demonstrators, who had been blocking the seat of government since the previous day, to stop, telling them that they are in breach of the criminal code and will be held accountable.
The day before, during a meeting with EU ambassadors, Azarov had suggested that the demonstrations underway in his country “resembled a coup d'état”. According to Ukrainian media reports, he said that “what is currently taking place bears every sign of a coup d'état. It is a very serious thing. We are showing patience but we do not want our partners to think that everything is allowed”. He went on to add: “I address the ambassadors, calling on them to do everything possible to call on the opponents not to resort to violence towards those representing law enforcement, to give up the language of ultimatums and to come to the negotiating table” (our translation).
Russian President Vladimir Putin took the view that the “events in Ukraine seem more like a pogrom than a revolution”, and that “it has little to do with Ukraine's relations with the European Union”.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have firmly condemned the brutal crackdown by the Ukrainian security forces against journalists covering the mass protests in Kiev. Over 50 journalists are reported to have sustained injuries.
Rejection of motion against government. Furthermore, on 3 December, the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, rejected the no-confidence motion against the government. The majority party, the Party of the Regions, did not take part in the vote and the text supported by three opposition groups only obtained 186 votes when a minimum of 226 were needed. (CG/transl.jl)