Brussels, 27/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 27-28 January, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle is again in Kiev - in order to continue helping the efforts to find a way out of the crisis and in order to highlight the EU's continued commitment. The Ukrainian opposition has announced that it is ready to pursue negotiations with Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych, while warning that patience has its limits. The Ukrainian Parliament will meet in extraordinary session on 28 January to discuss the political situation.
The previous evening, the heads of the EU missions in Kiev welcomed the talks between the opposition and the government, calling on the government to keep its promises and the announcements it has made. “The negotiations must continue”, they added. They called on the opposition “to maintain the peaceful nature of the protests and to distinguish themselves clearly from all those who use violence”. The heads of mission expressed their concerns about the worsening human rights situation, saying that “the arrests of wounded people outside clinics, and several cases of disappearance and torture which have been reported (…) cannot be accepted in any case”.
Need for concrete measures. On his return from Kiev on 24 and 25 January, Füle stressed the need to set up a series of concrete measures to re-establish confidence and put an end to the crisis. “My talks in Kiev showed the need for a series of concrete steps to first start to rebuild trust of people by stopping the spiral of violence and intimidation, to be complemented in a second stage by an inclusive political process leading the stability in Ukraine”, he said, stating that he had discussed a series of measures that could lead to trust and a political process to put an end to the crisis. Following Füle's visit, Yanukovych proposed that the leader of Batkivshchyna, Arseny Yatsenyuk become prime minister - a proposal that the latter refused.
In his talks with Yanukovych, the leaders of the opposition parties Udar - Vitali Klitschko, Svoboda - Oleh Tyahnybok, and Yatsenyuk, representatives from civil society and Maidan Square protesters, Füle stressed the need to put an end to the violence, to fight against the impunity of those perpetrating the violations of human rights, and to continue an inclusive national dialogue “to find a way out of the crisis that threatens to further destabilise the country”.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy strongly deplored and condemned the unjustified use of force and brutality by the authorities against protesters, the large majority still being peaceful protesters. In Van Rompuy's view, the dialogue can only succeed if there is political resolve to overcome the crisis - particularly within the government.
Protests in support of the opposition were held in several European capitals over the weekend - including Paris, Warsaw, Vilnius, London, Riga and Prague. (CG/transl.fl)