Opposition signs deal aiming to end Ukraine’s deadly crisis
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USA TODAY
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Video: Ukraine violence, protests felt by relatives in US
(CBS) KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the president and European and Russian mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis.
It could be a breakthrough in a months-long crisis over Ukraine’s future and identity that worsened sharply this week and left scores dead in the worst violence in Ukraine’s history as an independent nation.
CBS News correspondent Holly Williams reports from Kyiv that there were scuffles Friday morning in Ukraine’s Parliament as opposition members called for snap presidential elections. Some protesters in Kyiv’s Independence Square told CBS News that they were staying put until Yanukovych was removed from power.
As part of the agreement – and soon after the announcement of its signing – Ukraine’s Parliament voted heavily in favor of returning to its constitution from 2004, under which Yanukovich would lose some of his powers.
Yanukovych changed that constitution in 2010 to increase his powers. Although Yanukovych retains an apparent majority in parliament, his powers are now significantly reduced.
The agreement also says Ukrainian authorities will name a coalition government within 10 days.
It also says the government will not impose a state of emergency and both sides will refrain from violence. It says opposition protesters should hand over any weapons and withdraw from buildings they have occupied and protest camps around the country.
The agreement’s signing came hours after Yanukovych made concessions under pressure from European mediators.
European foreign ministers had stayed up all night in Kyiv trying to negotiate an end to the standoff, prompted when the president aborted a pact with the European Union in November in favor of close ties with Russia instead.
An EU official in Brussels told The Associated Press that if an agreement is signed, Russia and the EU would act as observers to ensure that it is implemented.
The U.S., Russia and European Union are deeply concerned about the future of Ukraine, a nation of 46 million that has divided loyalties between Russia and the West. Shots were heard again Friday near the protesters’ camp in Kyiv, a day after the deadliest violence in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history. It is unclear who was targeted and whether anyone was hurt or injured in Friday’s incident.
Protesters across the country are upset over corruption in Ukraine, the lack of democratic rights and the country’s ailing economy, which just barely avoided bankruptcy with the first disbursement of a $15 billion bailout promised by Russia.
The violence is making Ukraine’s economic troubles worse. Ratings agency Standard Poor’s downgraded Ukraine’s debt rating Friday, saying the country will likely default if there are no significant improvements in the political crisis, which it does not expect.
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