Brussels, 21/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 21 January, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy called on the government and opposition in Ukraine to put their words into practice by implementing the agreement that they signed in the presence of European mediators - an agreement that offers a way out of the crisis.
France's President François Hollande “welcomed” the agreement and called for its implementation in “full and as quickly as possible”. European Parliament President Martin Schulz said that the agreement brought hope and that “the violence must stop”.
The agreement, signed by the government and opposition in Ukraine, “is a necessary compromise” enabling Ukraine to exit the crisis, Van Rompuy stated. “It is now the responsibility of all parties to be courageous and turn words into deeds”, he added. The conclusion of this agreement has been facilitated “by important work by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Poland and the Special Representative of the President of Russia”, Vladimir Lukin, said Van Rompuy. The three European mediators were present on Friday at the signature of the text by Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych and the leaders of the opposition. In Van Rompuy's view, this compromise has also been facilitated by “the persistent efforts” of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton over the last two months.
A five-point agreement. Yanukovych and the Ukrainian opposition signed an agreement providing for an early presidential election by the end of 2014, the formation of a coalition government and constitutional reform. It comes after violence that has claimed nearly 80 lives in Kiev since Tuesday.
The agreement states the following: (1) within 48 hours of the signing of this agreement, a special law will be adopted, signed and promulgated, which will restore the constitution of 2004 including amendments passed until now; signatories declare their intention to create a coalition and form a national unity government within 10 days thereafter; (2) constitutional reform, re-balancing the powers of the president, the government and parliament, will start immediately and be completed in September 2014; (3) presidential elections will be held as soon as the new constitution is adopted but no later than December 2014; new electoral laws will be passed and a new central election commission will be formed on the basis of proportionality and in accordance with the OSCE and Venice commission rules; (4) investigation into recent acts of violence will be conducted under joint monitoring from the authorities, the opposition and the Council of Europe; (5) the authorities will not impose a state of emergency; the authorities and the opposition will refrain from the use of violence.
Around 25,000-30,000 protesters gathered under the sun on the now famous Maidan Square on Friday but did not seem ready to make concessions - even if the atmosphere was clearly less tense than the previous day. “People say they won't leave Maidan until Yanukovych steps down”, Oleg Bukoyenko, a 34-year old Kiev inhabitant, told French news agency AFP.
On Thursday 20 February, EU foreign affairs ministers agreed to targeted sanctions (see EUROPE 11023) including visa bans and assets freezes for “those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force”. The ministers also decided to “suspend export licences on equipment which might be used for internal repression” such as anti-riot equipment, but they did not commit to an arms embargo. Nevertheless, the Council conclusions stipulate that “the scale of implementation” of the sanctions “will be taken forward in the light of developments in Ukraine” and in the light of the results of the mission begun on Thursday by three European foreign affairs ministers - Laurent Fabius from France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier from Germany, and Radoslaw Sikorski from Poland. (LC/transl.fl)