Yanukovych slams opposition for inflaming tensions

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych has strongly condemned the opposition for refusing to end two months of anti-government street protests in the country.

Yanukovych blamed the opposition of behaving irresponsibly by not calling off the protests.

“The opposition is continuing to inflame the situation and is calling on people to stand in the freezing cold due to the political ambitions of several leaders,” he said in a statement.

He further added that the government has fulfilled all its obligations to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, but the opposition is whipping it up.

Yanukovych was speaking from the location where he is spending a sick leave. The president’s office on Thursday announced the leader had fallen ill with an “acute respiratory infection.”

The Ukrainian president has already granted his opponents a series of concessions, including an amnesty for jailed demonstrators, in order to calm the situation in the country.

He has also promised to show more understanding and admitted to his mistakes, but this has failed to end the protests.

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

The opposition accused the Ukrainian president of making the move under Russia’s influence.

They have insisted that only the removal of Yanukovych would placate thousands of protesters who have been occupying much of Kiev’s city center.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s first post-Soviet president, Leonid Kravchuk, warned that the country is moving toward the brink of civil war.