Church leaders meet Ukraine's president as protests spread

(Vatican Radio) Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovich has been meeting with church leaders as anti-government protests are spreading throughout the country. The talks came after the president met the European Union's enlargement commissioner who is in the country to mediate following battles that killed at least three demonstrators.

The office of Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich said he was meeting the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organisations who have called for prayers and reconciliation amid ongoing anti-government protests.

In a statement, Ukrainian church leaders urged all parties to recognize their responsibility for maintaining what they called "a unified Ukrainian state and begin a constructive dialogue" to address what they called "the socio-political crisis."

The talks came after Yanukovich spoke with the European Union's Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle who is in Ukraine to mediate between the government and opposition.

PROTESTS EXPANDING

The EU envoy arrived while anti-government demonstrators in Ukraine were expanding their protests because negotiations between Yanukovich and the opposition have stalled.

In western Ukraine, activists seized the regional government office in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk and were storming another one in Chernivtsi.

Protests were also reported in Lutsk, in the north-west, and Sumy, in the east of this former Soviet republic.

President Yanukovych has vowed to use "all legal means" if a solution to the crisis is not found.

However European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has warned the Ukrainian leader not to use violence, explained Commission spokesperson Oliver Bailey. "If the situation is not stabilized than the EU would assess possible consequences in its relation with Ukraine," he added.

YANUKOVICH COMPROMISE

In a sign of compromise, president Yanukovich has pledged to amend anti-protests laws that sparked this week's clashes between protesters and police, in which several demonstrators have died.

European Commission spokesperson Bailey also said that Ukraine's leader told Commission President Barosso that he would not impose a state of emergency.

"He also reassured that it was not foreseen to install a state of emergency in Ukraine," the spokesperson stressed.

Additionally, Yanukovich promised to reshuffle the government at an urgent session of parliament on Tuesday, but that has done little to ease tensions.

The opposition has demanded early elections and closer ties with the European Union.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report: