News / Europe
Ukraine President, Opposition Sign Deal
Ukraine's president and three opposition leaders signed a deal Friday to end the political crisis that erupted in violence this week, leaving scores dead.
The agreement's provisions include returning to the 2004 constitution, which would decrease the powers of the presidency and increase those of the parliament, setting up a national unity government within 10 days and holding an early presidential election later this year.
Ukraine's opposition leaders Vitaly Klitschko, Arseny Yatsenyuk and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L-R) address to media after signing an EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovych, Feb. 21, 2013.
The deal was signed after President Viktor Yanukovych bowed to opposition pressure and announced he would hold early elections, form a coalition government, and make constitutional changes.
His announcement followed all-night talks between representatives of his government and the opposition, brokered by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland.
Shortly after the agreement was signed Friday, Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the 2004 constitution.
It also voted to remove Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko, who is among the officials the opposition holds responsible for the killing of dozens of anti-government protesters, and to amend the country's criminal code in a way that would permit the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison.
The White House welcomed the agreement.
"We support the efforts of all those who negotiated this agreement, commend the courageous opposition leaders who recognized the need for compromise, and offer the support of the United States in its implementation," it said in a statement Friday. "Now, the focus must be on concrete action to implement this agreement, which we will be monitoring closely."
U.S. officials said President Obama discussed the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone Friday.
Opposition not completely satisfied
Just before the deal was inked Friday, another EU mediator, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, posted on Twitter: "We are about to sign. Good compromise for Ukraine. Gives peace a chance. Opens the way to reform and to Europe. Poland and the EU support it."
However VOA's Ukranian service reporter Ruslan Deynychenko who is in Kyiv said some protesters are not completely satisfied with the deal. One person he spoke with said " I don't want the elections to be delayed until December. I think the people have already suffered so much that I want elections to take place in a month or two, but not in December." Another protestor told Deynychenko "the bloodshed will not end, Yanukovych must immediately resign. Everyone on the Maidan wants this and almost everyone in the country feels this way."
Deynychenko says opposition leaders who signed the agreement are aware of the deep distrust between the opposition and the government.
"They understand the concerns [about] this agreement and they understand that it is not very popular among their supporters, first of all," he said. "But they say this is the only way to protect people on Maidan from violence, to stop the violence."
Russia reacts
Earlier this week, Mr. Putin, sent his human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, to Ukraine to help mediate the talks between the Ukrainian government and opposition. The Russian president has been a staunch supporter of President Yanukovych.
The Reuters news agency Friday quoted one of the EU diplomats who helped broker the deal, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, as saying that Russia played a "constructive role" in achieving agreement in Ukraine.
Still, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had "resolutely condemned the actions of radicals" - an apparent reference to Ukrainian opposition activists - in a telephone conversation Friday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Lavrov said they bore the "principal responsibility" for the violence in Ukraine.
A ministry statement said Lavrov and Ashton had discussed the deal "and the prospects for its implementation in the conditions of continuing activity by extremist forces'', suggesting Moscow had doubts it could succeed.
WATCH: RFE/RL's Live Stream from Kyiv
Gunshots fired
Meanwhile, police who had been guarding the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv left the area Friday afternoon. Earlier, shots were reportedly fired near the Ukrainian capital's Independence Square, the epicenter of the anti-government protests. The Ukrainian government blamed the gunshots on protesters.
Ukraine suffered its bloodiest day since Soviet times on Thursday as battles erupted in central Kyiv between riot police and anti-government protesters. Dozens of people were killed, some by government sniper fire, with some reports putting the single day death toll over 70.
Hundreds of others were reported wounded.
Elsewhere, television footage from the western city of Lviv showed scenes of chaos, as anti-government protesters firebombed government buildings and some police declined to intervene.
The White House said Thursday it was "outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people." The U.S. statement called on President Viktor Yanukovych "to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kyiv and to respect the right of peaceful protest." It also urged protesters to "express themselves peacefully" and pressed the Ukrainian military "not to get involved in a conflict that can and should be resolved by political means."
Sanctions
In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers agreed in emergency session Thursday to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for orchestrating the violence in the capital. The measures would include visa bans, asset freezes and restrictions on the export of anti-riot gear to the Ukrainian government. Washington imposed similar sanctions Wednesday.
The talks in Kyiv were brokered by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland. The president's web site said Russia was also involved in the talks.
Yanukovych and the leaders of anti-government protests had agreed on a truce Wednesday, saying it was aimed at "ending the bloodshed and stabilizing the situation...in the interests of social peace." The truce dissolved within hours.
Anti-government protests erupted in November, after Yanukovych backed away from a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
The agreement's provisions include returning to the 2004 constitution, which would decrease the powers of the presidency and increase those of the parliament, setting up a national unity government within 10 days and holding an early presidential election later this year.
Ukraine's opposition leaders Vitaly Klitschko, Arseny Yatsenyuk and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L-R) address to media after signing an EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovych, Feb. 21, 2013.His announcement followed all-night talks between representatives of his government and the opposition, brokered by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland.
Shortly after the agreement was signed Friday, Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the 2004 constitution.
It also voted to remove Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko, who is among the officials the opposition holds responsible for the killing of dozens of anti-government protesters, and to amend the country's criminal code in a way that would permit the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison.
The White House welcomed the agreement.
"We support the efforts of all those who negotiated this agreement, commend the courageous opposition leaders who recognized the need for compromise, and offer the support of the United States in its implementation," it said in a statement Friday. "Now, the focus must be on concrete action to implement this agreement, which we will be monitoring closely."
U.S. officials said President Obama discussed the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone Friday.
Opposition not completely satisfied
Just before the deal was inked Friday, another EU mediator, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, posted on Twitter: "We are about to sign. Good compromise for Ukraine. Gives peace a chance. Opens the way to reform and to Europe. Poland and the EU support it."
However VOA's Ukranian service reporter Ruslan Deynychenko who is in Kyiv said some protesters are not completely satisfied with the deal. One person he spoke with said " I don't want the elections to be delayed until December. I think the people have already suffered so much that I want elections to take place in a month or two, but not in December." Another protestor told Deynychenko "the bloodshed will not end, Yanukovych must immediately resign. Everyone on the Maidan wants this and almost everyone in the country feels this way."
Deynychenko says opposition leaders who signed the agreement are aware of the deep distrust between the opposition and the government.
"They understand the concerns [about] this agreement and they understand that it is not very popular among their supporters, first of all," he said. "But they say this is the only way to protect people on Maidan from violence, to stop the violence."
Russia reacts
Earlier this week, Mr. Putin, sent his human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, to Ukraine to help mediate the talks between the Ukrainian government and opposition. The Russian president has been a staunch supporter of President Yanukovych.
The Reuters news agency Friday quoted one of the EU diplomats who helped broker the deal, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, as saying that Russia played a "constructive role" in achieving agreement in Ukraine.
Still, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had "resolutely condemned the actions of radicals" - an apparent reference to Ukrainian opposition activists - in a telephone conversation Friday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Lavrov said they bore the "principal responsibility" for the violence in Ukraine.
A ministry statement said Lavrov and Ashton had discussed the deal "and the prospects for its implementation in the conditions of continuing activity by extremist forces'', suggesting Moscow had doubts it could succeed.
WATCH: RFE/RL's Live Stream from Kyiv
Gunshots fired
Meanwhile, police who had been guarding the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv left the area Friday afternoon. Earlier, shots were reportedly fired near the Ukrainian capital's Independence Square, the epicenter of the anti-government protests. The Ukrainian government blamed the gunshots on protesters.
Ukraine suffered its bloodiest day since Soviet times on Thursday as battles erupted in central Kyiv between riot police and anti-government protesters. Dozens of people were killed, some by government sniper fire, with some reports putting the single day death toll over 70.
Hundreds of others were reported wounded.
Elsewhere, television footage from the western city of Lviv showed scenes of chaos, as anti-government protesters firebombed government buildings and some police declined to intervene.
The White House said Thursday it was "outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people." The U.S. statement called on President Viktor Yanukovych "to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kyiv and to respect the right of peaceful protest." It also urged protesters to "express themselves peacefully" and pressed the Ukrainian military "not to get involved in a conflict that can and should be resolved by political means."
Sanctions
In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers agreed in emergency session Thursday to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for orchestrating the violence in the capital. The measures would include visa bans, asset freezes and restrictions on the export of anti-riot gear to the Ukrainian government. Washington imposed similar sanctions Wednesday.
The talks in Kyiv were brokered by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland. The president's web site said Russia was also involved in the talks.
Yanukovych and the leaders of anti-government protests had agreed on a truce Wednesday, saying it was aimed at "ending the bloodshed and stabilizing the situation...in the interests of social peace." The truce dissolved within hours.
Anti-government protests erupted in November, after Yanukovych backed away from a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters
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