Huge rally in Kiev presses for EU-Ukraine partnership

Thousands of Ukrainian protesters staged a mass rally at the Independence Square in Kiev on Sunday against the government decision not to sign a partnership agreement with the European Union two days ago. As the demonstrators turned violent, the police forces used batons, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them, Interfax news agency reported. A number of protesters were arrested and more than two dozens were injured while the security services said more than 100 policemen were wounded in the clashes. A group of protesters, demanding the resignation of the government and holing fresh elections, tried to approach the residence of President Viktor Yanukovych but the security forces forced them to retreat. Meanwhile, the Russian TV reported that a group of protesters stormed the headquarters of Kiev Municipality and the trade union and took control of the two buildings. The security forces are negotiating with the protesters to evacuate the two buildings but the opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, a former world boxing champion, told his supporters not to leave. Klitschko, chairman of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) said the government of Prime Minister Mykola Yanovych Azarov must step down and fresh elections must be held. In a related development, the EU accused Russia of applying pressures on President Viktor Yanukovych not to sign the Eastern Partnership (EaP) deal during the third Eastern Partnership Summit, held in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, on November 28-29. The Eastern Partnership is an initiative in the framework of the EU Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy that governs the EU relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It aims to prepare for negotiations on trade, economic, social, travel and other agreements between the two sides.