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Russia's Kiev envoy recalled for consultations

Iran Press TV

Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:36PM GMT

Russia has summoned its ambassador to Ukraine to discuss what Moscow called the 'deteriorating situation' in Kiev, a day after President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted by the parliament.

'Due to the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the need for a comprehensive analysis of the situation, the decision was made to recall the Russian ambassador to Ukraine for consultations in Moscow,' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The development came after Yanukovych was removed from his post by lawmakers' unanimous vote at the parliament on Saturday.

Yanukovych has reportedly departed from the capital, but his whereabouts and legitimacy are still unclear.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced Ukraine's opposition for reneging on its promise to abide by a peace deal it signed with the government on Friday.

Lavrov also said the opposition has grabbed power by inciting violence and deviating from the agreement.

Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talked over phone on Saturday about the violent situation in Ukraine.

'Lavrov drew [Kerry's] attention to the fact that, after the signature on February 21 of the agreement between the Ukrainian government and opposition, the situation in that country deteriorated sharply because of the inability or unwillingness of the opposition forces to respect the terms of the agreement, which had been concluded with the active participation of Germany, Poland and France,' said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement on the same day.

'The illegal extremist groups refuse to surrender their weapons and are de facto taking control of Kiev with the connivance of the opposition leaders in the Verkhovna Rada [parliament],' it said.

'The Russian minister reminded the secretary of state that this issue was discussed in detail in yesterday's telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, in which the Russian President called upon the American leader to make use of all resources to prevent illegal activities by radicals and bring the situation back into the constitutional framework,' added the statement.

Ukraine has been rocked by anti-government protests since Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the EU on November 29, 2013, in favor of closer ties with Russia.

MOL/MAM/AS