Ukraine Protests: Kiev Makes U-Turn on EU Association Deal

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ukraine-protests-kiev-makes-u-turn-on-eu-association-deal-a-938933.html



The government of embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signaled that an association agreement with the EU may now be signed after all. The reversal follows weeks of street protests in Kiev and mounting Western pressure.

Ukraine Protests: Kiev Makes U-Turn on EU Association Deal
December 13, 2013 – 05:03 PM

Three weeks into a power struggle that has seen an estimated 20,000 demonstrators camping out on Kiev's Independence Square in subzero temperatures, it seems as if closer ties between Ukraine and the European Union may be on the cards after all. On Thursday Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov announced his country would sign the free trade and association deal with the EU "soon," following talks with EU authorities. Arbuzov failed to give a specific deadline for signing the deal or to explain his government's change of heart.

In an interview Thursday evening with German television network ARD, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko reacted skeptically to the Ukrainian government's diplomatic offensive in Brussels. "Our president has promised to sign the agreement countless times over the past three years," Klitschko said, confirming his intention to stand for the presidency and stressing the need for reform. "We have to fight for our vision and our country," he told the network.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych announced his intention to offer amnesty to those who had been detained during the recent mass anti-government protests and now face criminal charges.

"There should be an amnesty, in order to give guarantees that the process of confrontation will stop," he said in a statement on Friday.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

1. To reiterate,

the future of Ukraine is the EU, not Putinstan.