Prime Minister Mykola Azarov admitted on Dec. 2 that his government was helpless to handle mass protests in the streets of Kyiv that have lasted for more than a week, and said they looked like a coup, Kyiv Post reports.
At the same time, President Vitkor Yanukovych reached out to Europe for a new deal after failing to sign an agreement last week. The government’s failure caused outrage and mass protests across the country.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been protesting against the government since Nov. 21, when it took a decision to reverse preparations to sing a comprehensive agreement with Europe in favor of closer ties in Russia.
In the meantime, President Yanukovych called President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso to discuss the riots that have been raging across the country.
Barosso told Yanukovych that “a peaceful and political solution is the only way for Ukraine out of the current situation,” the press service of EU Commission reported.
He also advised Yanukovych to immediately investigate “the use of force by the police,” respect civil rights and liberties and “urgently engage with all relevant political forces.”
Yanukovych, on his part, asked the European Commission to receive a delegation from Ukraine to discuss a deal with the EU, preparations to which were stopped by initiative of Ukraine’s government weeks ago.
