Ukraine Protest: Government is Ready to Step Down
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that he is ready to resign, together with his cabinet, if the parliament requires it.
“The question of resignation is within the competence of Parliament. If Parliament votes this way, the government will resign. I have said before that this procedure is possible”, said Azarov responding to reporters’ questions in Davos, Voice of Russia reported.
“If the political forces of parliament and the president think this necessary, then what grounds do I have to oppose such a course of events?” the prime minister said.
He also said his govermnent is ready to repeal or at least tone down new laws brought in to tackle violence.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has called for a special session of the Ukrainian parliament to be held next week to discuss continuing tensions in the country.
Meanwhile, protesters stormed the governor’s offices in Lviv, and there were rallies in at least five more western cities.
Crisis talks between the government and the opposition have ended in a deadlock raising fears of intensified protests.
Ukrainian opposition leaders have issued an ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych, saying that protesters will be “on the attack” in the capital Kyiv, if the government refuses to call snap elections.
The protest, which began in a peaceful way, turned violent as demonstrators set several police buses on fire, used Motolov cocktails and beat officers with baseball bats.
The uprising culminated in the killing of two demonstrators by police on Wednesday.
European Commission leader José Manuel Barroso held a phone conversation with Yanukovich, saying that he was deeply concerned for the violence. Yanukovich assured him that there would be no state of emergency called in Ukraine and there are no plans, at the moment, to involve the militaries as extra type of security services.
“We are shocked to hear the latest news on Ukraine about death of protesters and express our deepest condolence to their families. We deplore in the strongest possible terms the use of force and violence and call on all sites to immediately refrain from it […] I would like to explicitly underline the fundamental responsibility of Ukrainian authorities to now take action to de-escalate this crisis, ” Barroso said in a statement on Wednesday.
A spokesman of the European Commission said Barroso also warned that: “If the situation is not stabilised, then the EU would assess possible consequences in its relationship with Ukraine”.
The escalating violence has caused all sites to warn of a possible civil war in Ukraine.
The protest was sparked following President Viktor Yanukovich’s rejection of a trade and investment deal with the European Union. The demonstrations increased after Yanukovich reached a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed outside influences for fuelling the violence, Ukrainian politician Arseniy Yatsenyuk argued that the shift in protests tactics has been caused by Yanukovych’s refusal to listen to the protesters’ demands.