Paet: Violence in Kyiv Must End
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet has issued a statement condemning the escalation of violence against protesters in Ukraine, where several people have been reported killed in clashes since the country's president pushed through a law against pro-EU protests.
"The Ukrainian government must take political responsibility and immediately begin a high-level political dialogue between all of the parties in order to exit the crisis," Paet said, expressing condolences to the victims and their families. Two people have been reported shot dead as security forces stormed barricades in Kyiv; a third was also said to be killed.
Paet said the Ukrainian authorities had to focus on dialogue and reinstating communication between the sides.
It is the second and most serious flareup of the conflict that began in November with President Viktor Yanukovych's rejection of a deep and comprehensive association agreement with Europe.
Paet reserved criticism for the most recent legislation aimed at criminalizing the protests themselves, saying the move stripped the possibility of solving the crisis through democratic means and ran counter to Ukraine's international commitments.