Summary The street rallies first erupted when the president backed out of a key pact with EU in November.
KIEV, Jan 31, 2014 (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry will on Saturday meet Ukrainian opposition leaders for the first time in a show of support for pro-democracy protesters locked in a deadly two-month stand-off with President Viktor Yanukovych.
Among those slated to hold talks with the top US diplomat on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference are former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who leads the UDAR (Punch) party, and opposition politician Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Kiev s former master Russia angrily dismissed the meeting following warnings by President Vladimir Putin against foreign interference in the ex-Soviet country s worst crisis since its 1991 independence.
Russia s outspoken Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted on Friday that Kerry s planned meetings, which are also expected to include Ukraine s pop star Ruslana, were a "circus."
"It s also necessary to involve Verka-Serdyuchka in the talks," he said in apparent sarcasm, referring to Ukraine s bombastic drag queen pop star.
"Her/his authoritative opinion should be heard by the White House and taken into account!"
The announcement of the Kerry meeting came hours after Ukraine s embattled President Viktor Yanukovych savaged the "irresponsible" opposition for inflaming tensions after he unexpectedly went on sick leave with no end in sight to the turmoil.
The street rallies first erupted when the president backed out of a key pact with the European Union in November in favour of closer ties with Moscow. The unrest has since spiralled into an uprising seeking the president s removal.
The opposition has refused to abandon the protests despite a string of concessions from the authorities, including a promised amnesty for jailed demonstrators and Yanukovych s acceptance of his prime minister s resignation.
In the run-up to the meeting, Kerry held a conference call with top opposition leaders, while the US administration said it was consulting with Congress about possible sanctions on Ukraine.
"We ve been cautiously optimistic that this dialogue between the government and the opposition is beginning to bear fruit," a senior State Department official said.
"There s the question of whether they can move on to form a government of national unity."
Representatives of the Ukrainian government were also expected to attend the Munich talks.
Klitschko and his allies met on Thursday with senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid and United Nations special coordinator Robert Serry, his party said.
Yanukovych s sick leave announcement came after a fraught parliament session on Wednesday night, where he had to personally intervene to prevent a schism in his ruling Regions Party over the amnesty bill.
Klitschko s UDAR party called the president s sick leave "political", saying it did not absolve him of his responsibility to put an end to the crisis.
Defiance and contrition
=======================
After his sick leave announcement, Yanukovych issued a defiant statement accusing 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.
But in a rare show of contrition, Yanukovych also admitted he needed to take more account of the country s mood.
"From my side, I will show more understanding for the demands and ambitions of people, taking into account the mistakes that authorities always make."
Yanukovych has already yielded some ground to the protesters by accepting the resignations of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire cabinet, as well as allowing the annulment of tough anti-protest laws.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was "willing to consider sanctions" against the Ukrainian authorities.
"No decision has been made," she added.
Thousands of demonstrators camp out in much of Kiev s city centre, including radical activists in balaclavas who are patrolling the barricades with crowbars.
A recent outbreak of violence saw several people shot dead and turned parts of the capital into a battlefield, in the country s worst unrest since its independence in 1991.
According to prosecutors, four people have died and 234 people have been arrested across the country in the protests. The amnesty would apply to all those detained save those accused of grave crimes.
Ukraine remains mired in deep economic trouble and has accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow, although Putin this week warned that further payments will not be released until a new government is named.
sjw-as/yad
AFP
310651 GMT JAN 14
