Protest leaders reject prime minister’s call to end Kiev blockade

Ukraine’s prime minister has survived a no-confidence vote and offered to start talks with opposition leaders if thousands of protesters in Kiev end their blockade of government buildings.

Opposition parties failed to muster enough votes in parliament to oust Mykola Azarov and his cabinet yesterday, as demonstrations continued in Kiev and other cities against a decision to halt greater integration with the European Union and focus on repairing ties with traditional ally Russia.

The protests erupted after Ukraine's government and president Viktor Yanukovich unexpectedly refused to sign a historic political and trade deal with the EU, citing fears that Russia's threatened trade retaliation would ruin their country's economy.

Looking to Russia
Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Kiev last weekend against Mr Yanukovich's perceived turn towards Russia, amid reports that Moscow had promised cheap credit and a deep discount on gas if Ukraine rejected the long-planned EU pact. Many Ukrainians also accuse Mr Yanukovich of presiding over political persecution and massive corruption.

Ukrainian officials are due to travel to Brussels and Moscow for talks today, while the Council of Europe said its secretary general, Thorbjorn Jagland, would meet Mr Azarov and opposition leaders in Kiev "to try to reduce tensions and to see if a dialogue is possible". US secretary of state John Kerry called on Kiev to "listen to the voices of its people who want to live in freedom and in opportunity and prosperity".

Mr Azarov said last night he would meet opposition leaders if protesters stopped occupying government buildings and disrupting the work of state administrations.

“What do you think – is it really possible in winter, in a complicated economic situation, to do things that could lead to a halt in transport, the work of hospitals and public services? That is total irresponsibility,” he said.

Protest leaders showed no sign of meeting Mr Azarov's condition, however. After the confidence vote yesterday, thousands of demonstrators marched from parliament to the presidential administration, where they were confronted by riot police. Later most of them returned to Independence Square in Kiev.

Collecting signatures
There they massed in front a large stage to hear bands and comedians perform while volunteers handed out food and hot drinks and collected signatures demanding the resignation of Mr Yanukovich and Mr Azarov's government. Many demonstrators waved the blue-and-gold flags of Ukraine and the European Union, or wrapped themselves in larger banners as the temperature dropped below zero.

Around a tent city on the square, people lit fires in big metal drums and huddled together to keep warm.

The rallies have made Kiev’s central avenue, Khreschatyk, a pedestrian-only area, and the opposition has taken over two floors of city hall and declared it the “headquarters of the revolution”. It has also occupied a trade union building on the same street and made it the press centre for the biggest protest movement in Ukraine since the 2004-5 Orange Revolution.

Opposition chiefs vowed to continue their blockade of the government building and presidential administration until their demands were met. "Every day at 8am we will deliver our key demand to Viktor Yanukovich: that he order the dismissal of Azarov's cabinet and call early presidential and parliamentary elections," said Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who leads the party of jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

Country in crisis
"There is a political and economic crisis in the country. Yanukovich won't manage to hide from sorting out this crisis," he added, calling on the president to return from a visit to China during which he hopes to secure much needed investment for Ukraine.

Mr Yanukovich has called on protesters not to break the law and urged his critics to drop calls for snap elections and wait instead for a planned presidential vote in 2015, saying that “even the worst peace is better than the best war”.