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Western backing of Ukraine opposition 'fuelling violence'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slams Western support of Ukraine's opposition

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed Western support of Ukraine's opposition on Saturday, suggesting that it was fuelling violence.

At a gathering of the world's top diplomats and defence officials in Munich, Mr Lavrov took issue with what he said were "prominent European politicians actually encouraging such actions.

"What does incitement of increasingly violent street protests have to do with promoting democracy?" he said.

"Why don't we hear condemnations of those who seize and hold government buildings, burn, torch the police, use racist and anti-semitic and nazi slogans?"

But Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen blamed Ukrainian police for using excessive force.

And opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said his country needed more than just "vocal support" from the West.

Mr Yatsenyuk, along with fellow opposition politicians Vitali Klitschko and Petro Poroshenko, met US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the Munich security conference.

Mr Kerry called on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara to ensure the government took steps such as the release of prisoners and the formation of a "technical government" to address the country's economic problems.

He claimed that the crisis was about ordinary people fighting for the right to associate with the European Union.

"Nowhere is the fight for a democratic, European future more important today than in Ukraine," he asserted.

"While there are unsavoury elements in any chaotic situation, the vast majority of Ukrainians want to live freely in a safe, prosperous country."

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