Ukrainian opposition calls for Western aid
Iran Press TV
Sun Feb 2, 2014 10:39PM
The Ukrainian opposition has called for Western aid and mediation to end the crisis in the Eastern European country.
Addressing a rally of over 6,000 people in the capital Kiev, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Sunday, 'We spoke to our Western partners and told them that we need real financial aid.'
World boxing champion and opposition leader Vitali Klitschko also said that there was a need for an international role to avoid 'misunderstandings' in negotiations between the opposition and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Also on the same day, opposition leaders called a new rally at Independence Square in Kiev, urging the protesters to press for more concessions from Yanukovych, including the immediate release of prisoners and the formation of a new government.
The Ukrainian president has already granted his opponents a series of concessions, including an amnesty for jailed demonstrators, except for those who were suspected of committing major crimes, in order to calm the situation in the country.
He also offered top government positions to the opposition leaders last month, which they rejected. Yanukovych also pledged to change the constitution to reduce the president's powers, following his decision to scrap an anti-protest law.
Ukraine has been rocked by anti-government protests since the Ukrainian president refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the EU at the third Eastern Partnership Summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on November 29, 2013.
Kiev refused to sign the agreement after EU leaders called on Ukraine to allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to travel overseas for medical treatment.
IA/MAM/AS
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