Ukrainian opposition rallies Western support

The Ukrainian opposition has called for more than vocal support from Europe and the United States, while Russia has accused certain foreign countries of interfering in Ukraine’s affairs.

Ukrainian opposition leaders met in Munich on Friday with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. They are also due to talk with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday.

“What we need is not just declarations but a very clear action plan – how to fix the problem and fix the violence, how to investigate all these killings and abductions and tortures,” said member of parliament and former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

Petro Poroshenko, another opposition leader, said, “We are impressed with the level of solidarity in the last days. The whole world demonstrates with us.”

“There was a very clear, transparent and firm position from the United States, from Canada, and I think the European Union is now much closer in a coordinated reaction with the United States than before.”

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has called the US top diplomat’s upcoming meeting with the major figures of the opposition a “circus.”

Last month, Russia called on European governments not to interfere in the political crisis in Ukraine.

“We would prefer that some of our European colleagues refrained from acting unceremoniously over the Ukrainian crisis, when, without any kind of invitation, members of certain European governments rush to the Maidan (independence square), take part in anti-government demonstrations in a country, with which they have diplomatic relations,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “It is just distasteful.”

Anti-government demonstrations in Ukraine erupted last November after president Yanukovych pulled out of a deal with the European Union, which could have paved the way for Kiev to join the bloc.