Ukraine crisis in stalemate as West mulls aid

Western leaders return to Kiev this week to talk to warring Ukrainian factions and find way out of political crisis.

Western politicians are returning to Ukraine this week to resolve the political crisis that has gripped the country for months, as the US said it was in preliminary discussions to provide financial aid to the protest-hit country.


According to the news agency AFP, the European Union's head of foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, is in Kiev on Tuesday to meet with the government and the opposition to try to resolve the stalemate between the two sides.

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, is also travelling to the capital this week.
 In Washington a US State Department spokesman said the US was in "preliminary" talks about putting together a financial aid package for Ukraine.

Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday: "Let me be clear, this is at a very preliminary stage. We are consulting
with the EU... and other partners about the support Ukraine may need after a new technical government is formed."
Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk has asked for $20bn, a similar sized package to the one promised by Russia that is now on hold.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich, who joined office on Monday after a brief illness, criticised mass protests against his government as "extremism".
Yanukovich criticised the anti-government movement as "radicalism and incitement to hatred behind which there is a struggle for power".

Resolve the crisis
The renewed attempts to resolve the crisis come as disagreement and confusion emerged among activists about the way forward.

Some anti-government activists have agreed with the police to demolish a major barricade and end their two-month occupation of City Hall in exchange for the amnesty of all arrested protesters.
According to a report, published on the Korrespondent news website on Monday, Andrei Paruby, from the opposition parliamentary party Batkivshchina, and representatives from other activist groups met with Aleksand Yakimenko, the head of Security Service of Ukraine, and Viktor Dubovik, the first deputy of minister of internal affairs, on Friday.

Roman Dashavets, an anti-government activist, told Al Jazeera's Tamila Varshalomidze on Monday: "It is true that negotiations took place and the decision was made to demolish barricades on Grushevskogo, restore traffic movement and vacate the Town Hall building."

Dashavets said he was not present at the talks, but he talked to those who were. "According to the deal, the jailed activists should first be freed and then our side will do their part. But I think something will go wrong, one side is bound to make some step that will make this impossible."
But other activists disgreed with the decision to co-operate with security forces.

Dima Krizskiy told Al Jazeera: "It's not possible. If we demolish the barricade, people will be left without any protection. They will be out on a flat spot ready to be dispersed," said Dima Krizskiy, who leads a group of activists.

"If we go through with this, it would mean the protests are over," Krizskiy said. He said his group of activists did not recognise the authority of opposition leaders such as Paruby and Vitaly Klitschko.