Kerry commends Ukraine's opposition leaders for defending democracy

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with political and civil society leaders in the Ukrainian opposition who have been active in the peaceful movement. He underscored the US "unwavering support for the democratic European aspirations of the Ukrainian people," State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki told reporters here on Thursday. He also commended these opposition leaders "for speaking out against violence and for their courageous work to defend democracy and advance their goals through peaceful means and dialogue." The US top diplomat praised "the progress achieved in their talks with the government, notably the repeal of the January 16th laws and the commitment to government change." "He urged that these talks continue and pledged continued US support in coordination with the EU, the UN, the OSCE for a peaceful political resolution to the political crisis, which brings those responsible to account, restores human rights, democracy, economic health an a path to Europe for Ukraine," Psaki affirmed. Furthermore, Kerry underlined "his concerns about reports of human rights violations, "such as disappearances and killings, and stressed that the United States is pressing the government of Ukraine to establish a justice commission to investigate these crimes and to bring those responsible to justice." Psaki stressed that "there's more that President Yanukovych could do, including signing into law immediately the parliament's decision to repeal the most egregious anti-democratic laws." "So there's certainly more steps that can be taken, and we're hopeful that they will proceed," she reiterated. She added "we're continuing to call for President Yanukovych -- to work with the opposition to take concrete steps to reach a peaceful solution."