Yanukovych ousted as Ukrainian parliament appoints acting president
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Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov has been appointed acting president by the Ukrainian parliament on Saturday, the day after opposition and President Viktor Yanukovych signed a treaty which put a stop to violence which erupted last week and claimed over 80 lives.
Late on Friday, Yanukovych fled Kiev to Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. On Saturday in televised interview he called his dismissal a “coup d’état” and said that he will not stand down and the parliament decision to recall him was “illegal.”
Parliament have also voted to release from jail former PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Her release was one of the conditions of the EU-Ukraine trade pact that Mr Yanukovych rejected last year. Yanukovych estate near Kiev was seized, which protesters entered on Saturday.
Snap presidential elections have been called for May 25 and the parliament will now try to form new government. “In these days the most important thing is to form a functioning government,” said Vitaly Klitschko, a former world boxing champion and one of the opposition leaders.
The European Commission said on Sunday it was ready to conclude a trade deal with Ukraine and offer aid once a new government was formed. Meanwhile, Russia blocked the remainder of its $15 billion loan it granted to Kiev recently.
Poland A.M.
