- Title: UKRAINE: U.S. Senator McCain tells protesters "Ukraine will make Europe better"
- Date: 15th December 2013
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (DECEMBER 15, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS U.S. REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN AND U.S. DEMOCRAT SENATOR CHRISTOPHER MURPHY ARRIVING ON STAGE AT INDEPENDENCE SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEMOCRAT SENATOR CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, SAYING: "We are here to tell you that the American people and the United States Congress stands with the people of Ukraine." CROWDS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEMOCRAT SENATOR CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, SAYING: "The way towards change goes through peaceful protest. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) And in America we stand in awe of the fact that despite the violence on the square you have remained peaceful in support of change." CROWD CHEERING MCCAIN TAKING PICTURES UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS, MCCAIN ON STAGE CROWDS CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR, JOHN MCCAIN, SAYING: "I am a Republican, Senator Murphy is a Democrat - we are here together speaking for the American people in solidarity with you." MCCAIN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR, JOHN MCCAIN, SAYING: "And the destiny you seek lies in Europe. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) Ukraine will make Europe better, and Europe will make Ukraine better. PEOPLE CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR, JOHN MCCAIN, SAYING: "People of Ukraine, this is your moment. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) This is about you, no one else. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) This is about the future you want for your country, this is about the future you deserve. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) A future in Europe. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) A future of peace. (PAUSE FOR TRANSLATION) The free world is with you. America is with you. I am with you." CROWDS CHEERING
- Embargoed: 30th December 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: International Relations,European Union,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5XZUVA9SLLL32MAIVTQ9CG01A
- Story Text: U.S. Senator McCain tells protesters that Ukraine's destiny lies in Europe, adding that "Ukraine will make Europe better".
U.S. Senator John McCain told thousands of Ukrainian protesters camped on Kiev's main square on Sunday (December 15) that Ukraine's destiny lay in Europe and that it would make Europe better.
Senators John McCain and Christopher Murphy both addressed the crowd from a stage.
"We are here to tell you that the American people and the United States Congress stands with the people of Ukraine," Murphy told the crowd.
"The way towards change goes through peaceful protest. And in America we stand in awe of the fact that despite the violence on the square you have remained peaceful in support of change," he added.
Senator McCain then took Murphy's place on stage among Ukrainian opposition leaders and told the crowd that the U.S. government supported Ukraine.
"I am a Republican, Senator Murphy is a Democrat - we are here together speaking for the American people in solidarity with you," McCain said.
"And the destiny you seek lies in Europe. Ukraine will make Europe better, and Europe will make Ukraine better," McCain said to crowds protesting against President Viktor Yanukovich's U-turn in trade policy away from Europe towards Russia.
"People of Ukraine, this is your moment. This is about you, no one else. This is about the future you want for your country, this is about the future you deserve. A future in Europe. A future of peace. The free world is with you. America is with you. I am with you." McCain, a leading Republican voice on U.S. foreign policy, told the crowd.
Thousands massed on Sunday for a rally against Yanukovich just days before he heads for a meeting at the Kremlin which the opposition fears will slam the door on integration with the European mainstream.
Minutes before the rally, EU enlargement chief Stefan Fuele said on Twitter he had told Ukraine last week he was suspending work on a trade-and-political agreement, saying Kiev's arguments to improve terms had "no grounds in reality".
Street protests erupted after Yanukovich's decision on Nov. 21 to walk away from the agreement with the EU, after years of careful preparation, and turn to Moscow, Kiev's former Soviet master, for aid to save Ukraine's distressed economy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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