Ukraine: manifestants "pro-Ianoukovitch" payés pour être présents à Kiev. -John McCain in Ukraine to meet with protesters(2video RT)

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"On nous a dit que cette manifestation serait pour la paix et l'unité de l'Ukraine, et sur place il s'est avéré que c'est un rassemblement pour le Parti des régions" du président Ianoukovitch, se plaint Tetiana Skliarenko, 58 ans, qui s'est déplacée en car avec tout un groupe, en échange d'une promesse de rémunération.

Selon plusieurs témoignages, elle est loin d'être la seule "manifestante" recrutée par le pouvoir via un message trompeur pour venir en réalité grossir les rangs des pro-Ianoukovitch lors de la grande contre-manifestation organisée samedi à quelques centaines de mètres de Maïdan, haut lieu de la contestation pro-européenne opposée au régime.

Cette manifestation, qui a réuni environ 35.000 personnes, selon un journaliste de l'AFP (60.000, selon la police et 200.000, selon les organisateurs) se voulait une démonstration de force à la veille d'un nouveau grand rassemblement de l'opposition prévu dimanche. Mais l'humeur y semblait bien moins enthousiaste que dans le camp adverse.

Les manifestants ont défilé dans le silence, ne scandant aucun slogan. Mykola Fedorov, 66 ans, connait la même mésaventure que Tetiana Skliarenko. Il souligne qu'il n'est pas partisan du gouvernement. "Je suis ici pour soutenir l'unité du pays, pas le gouvernement", a-t-il déclaré à l'AFP. Le mouvement de contestation contre le pouvoir, provoqué par la volte-face du président sur l'intégration européenne au profit de la Russie, est inédit depuis la Révolution orange de 2004 qui avait porté au pouvoir des partisans de l'Occident. La dispersion violente d'une manifestation d'étudiants le 30 novembre, qui a fait des dizaines de blessés, a renforcé la mobilisation pro-européenne.
Belga
http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_ukraine-manifestants-pro-ianoukovitch-payes-pour-etre-presents-a-kiev?id=8157732
14/12/13 
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• Sergei Lavrov: Η Δύση έχει χάσει την αίσθηση της πραγματικότητας στην Ουκρανία. -«άγγιξε τα όρια της υστερίας»

• Ukraine on Brink of Economic Deal With Russia – Premier

• Η ΕΕ εγκαταλείπει την «ουδέτερη» στάση της στο θέμα της Ουκρανίας

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• Thousands hit Kiev streets in rival rallies as mayor suspended over protest crackdown

Tens of thousands of people from across Ukraine have gathered in central Kiev for rival anti- and pro-government rallies. President Yanukovich suspended the city’s mayor and top security official over the brutal eviction of protesters.

• Follow RT's LIVE UPDATES on protests in Kiev. 

The Ukrainian ruling Party of Regions has estimated that some 200,000 of its supporters have come to Kiev's European Square to back President Viktor Yanukovich and his cabinet’s anti-EU move.
Despite the Party of Regions’ estimate, local police have put the number of activists at around 60,000 people.
Many of the banners read, "We’ll save Ukraine!"

"There are many Kiev residents among protesters, who came to support the alternative point of view, which is different from the one being promoted at the nearby rally on Independence square,” the ruling party’s press office said. “They all unite in the opinion that it is necessary to stop the civil confrontation and restore peace and tranquility in the society."

 Many Party of Regions activists arrived in Kiev on Friday, with the largest groups coming from the major cities of Donetsk - where Yanukovych once served as regional governor - Lugansk, Sevastopol, and Dnepropetrovsk.

"There are students, factory workers, coalminers and retirees," the rally’s coordination center said.

"I have supported the Party of Regions since 2004. I should be here. It is my duty to be here because I trust our President," one of activists from the eastern city of Lugansk told AP.

The Party of Regions has ruled out the possibility of resolving the country’s political crisis by force.

"Any conflicts, the most difficult matters should and can only be solved by the negotiating table. People should not be driven away from their work, from their families," Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov told supporters as he opened the rally at 2:00 p.m. local time.

The rally, which is set to last for two days, is just 200 meters away from Maidan - or Independence Square - where the opposition’s supporters have been camping out for three weeks of protests sparked by Yanukovich's refusal to sign an association deal with the European Union............http://rt.com/news/ukraine-rival-rallies-president-254/
14/12/13
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• People of Ukraine should decide their future, says United Nations 

Everybody’s watching very closely what is happening on the streets. But it is for the people of Ukraine to decide, UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said commenting on the visit to Kiev of US Secretary State’s aide Victoria Nuland.

Commenting on an article on the situation in Ukraine in The New York Times, he said that of course, many countries are concerned about the tensions there are. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his own concerns about those tensions and has spoken to President [Viktor] Yanukovych about the need for dialogue and for the need for restraint on all sides. But, ultimately, it’s for the people of Ukraine to decide Nesirky emphasized.

The New York Time Opinion Page on December 11 points to the serious economic situation in Ukraine which is divided into two camps, those who supports establishing close ties with Russia and those supporting Euro-integration. It reminds that for months, the International Monetary Fund has refused to sign off on a nearly $15 billion bailout loan that Ukraine needs by March to refinance its external debt. The I.M.F. wants Ukraine to accept harsh conditions, including raising domestic gas prices and imposing strict budgetary austerity.

Eventually, Ukraine will need help from one of its neighbors, Russia in the east or Europe in the west, says The New York Times.
 http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_14/People-Ukraine-future-UN/

14/12/13

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• As Ukrainians prepare for a mass anti-government rally, a top U.S. Republican senator on foreign policy meets with the opposition.