- Title: UKRAINE: Ukraine PM explains U-turn away from Europe
- Date: 25th November 2013
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (NOVEMBER 24,2013) (REUTERS) OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS IN PRO-EUROPEAN RALLY VARIOUS OF OPPOSITION BATKIVSHCHYNA (MOTHERLAND) PARTY LEADER, ARSENIY YATSENYUK, COMING TO ADDRESS PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) OPPOSITION BATKIVSHCHYNA (MOTHERLAND) PARTY LEADER, ARSENIY YATSENYUK, ADDRESSING PEOPLE: "We want to be a part of European Union, and we will be a part of European Union!" PEOPLE LISTENING TO ARSENIY YATSENYUK (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) OPPOSITION BATKIVSHCHYNA (MOTHERLAND) PARTY LEADER, ARSENIY YATSENYUK, ADDRESSING PEOPLE: "Our mission is to block the government until the government cancels its shameful decision and opens the way to the European Union." RALLY IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) OPPOSITION UDAR (PUNCH) PARTY LEADER, VITALY KLITSCHKO ADDRESSING PEOPLE: "We want to prove and pressurise the president and the government, to sign the Agreement, because we are (crowd EUROPE). Ukraine is (EUROPE) And we are only together." VARIOUS OF RALLY IN PROGRESS/ POSTER READING YANUKOVYCH IS NOT UKRAINE (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) IVAN SEMESYUK, POPULAR UKRAINIAN ARTIST, SAYING: "To me this is not a choice - Europe or not Europe. I'm in Europe since my childhood, in my head anyway. To me it's just a matter of going home." RALLY IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 10th December 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: International Relations,European Union,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADM6ODE1Q9UJ9YY1QWZ8NM49D9
- Story Text: Ukrainian Prime Minister explains his government's decision to walk away from a trade pact with the European Union; opposition leaders call their supporters to increase pressure on government urging it to keep following the European course.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov explained his government's decision to walk away from a trade pact with the European Union.
The signing of the association agreement was to be the centre-piece of an EU summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, next Friday and mark a historic swing westwards away from Russia, Ukraine's old Soviet master.
The Kremlin had threatened trade retaliation, arousing fears of cut-offs in supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine and through it to the West.
Azarov said the policy reverse after years of building up to a signing in Vilnius had been driven by the critical state of the economy and a lack of support from the International Monetary Fund.
The country of 46 million is heavily indebted and must find more than $17 billion next year to meet gas bills to Russia and debt repayments including $3.7 billion to the IMF.
"We were hoping that we would be able to negotiate compensations with the EU, that the EU would help us negotiate loans with the IMF," Azarov told Ukraine's ICTV channel.
But the move has been met with fierce protests from Ukrainians. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people marched to President Viktor Yanukovich's office, denouncing the U-turn away from Europe and towards Russia.
Opposition leaders told the crowds through loud-hailers they would start moves to impeach the president unless he signed the trade pact with the EU on November 29 as originally planned.
"Our mission is to block the government until the government cancels its shameful decision and opens the way to the European Union," opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told protesters.
World boxing champion-turned politician Vitaly Klitschko urged protesters to keep up the pressure on the government.
"We want to prove and pressurise the president and the government, to sign the Agreement, because we are (crowd EUROPE). Ukraine is (EUROPE) And we are only together," he said.
Artist Ivan Semesyuk explained why people were angry.
"To me this is not a choice - Europe or not Europe. I've been in Europe since my childhood, in my head anyway. To me it's just a matter of going home," he said.
The demonstrators marched two kms from Kiev's central Taras Shevchenko park to the city's European Square, half a mile (one km) from Yanukovich's office.
There they set up a tent city as their headquarters and vowed to stay there until at least November 29. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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