Ukraine: Talks to end violence have failed

According to AFP and Reuters, on February 19, Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko said he had ended negotiations with President Viktor Yanukovych without reaching any results on how to end the violence in the capital Kiev.

Ukrainska Pravda news site quoted Mr Klitschko as saying he left the talks after President Yanukovych demanded the unconditional clearance of Independence Square occupied by anti-government protesters in Kiev.

Clashes between police and protesters at Independence Square. (Source: Reuters)

Speaking to Hromadske TV channel, Mr. Klitschko said that President Yanukovych declared that he would not order an end to the bloody police crackdown in this square.

Svyatoslav Hanenko, a senior member of the opposition medical team, said four people had died since police began storming the protest camp in Independence Square. The latest toll means 16 people have died in clashes between police and protesters that began on February 18.

According to an AFP journalist at the scene, the Trade Union Building, the protesters' last stronghold in Independence Square, was engulfed in flames.

In a related development, US Vice President Joe Biden on February 18 had a phone call with the President of Ukraine, calling on Mr. Yanukovych to withdraw government forces from the camp they attacked./.

According to VNA