Kravchuk tells how Yanukovych may ease public tension

KYIV, December 10 /Ukrinform/. Viktor Yanukovych has announced a plan to ease tension in Ukrainian society during a meeting with the presidents of Ukraine, Ukraine's first President Leonid Kravchuk said at a roundtable in the Ukraine Palace on Tuesday in Kyiv.

"The President today has presented his plan in detail. There are two stages to solve this problem. The first stage - removing the severity in connection with the failure to sign at the Vilnius summit the Association Agreement with the EU and the problem encountered during the Euromaidan - use of force against protesters," Kravchuk noted.

In particular, he said, President Viktor Yanukovych agreed that the force applied to the pro-EU protesters in the early hours of November 30 was unlawful. "President Yanukovych, using his powers, without interfering with the powers of security forces, will solve the problem so that the people who are now in custody be released today or tomorrow. This will be done for sure," Kravchuk assured.

However, he stressed that this does not mean termination of the investigation.

As referred to the prospects of European integration, the ex-president said a commission goes to Brussels to decide on economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU. "There is an agreement with the European Union that steps will be made allowing Ukraine to sign the Agreement without losing its economic interests and opportunities to develop," Kravchuk emphasized.

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