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Ukraine’s three former presidents looking for ways out of political crisis

Earlier, Kuchma condemned the use of force when the police had pushed the protesters from Kiev’s central Independence Square

© ITAR-TASS/Andrey Mosienko

KIEV, December 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s former presidents, Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko, on Thursday met with representatives from the December 1 initiative group to discuss ways out of the current political crisis in the country.

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The December 1 group includes people of science and arts, intellectuals, experts and clergymen, who see it as their goal to establish dialogue between the authorities and the people and for these ends to involve representatives from various political forces. According to the press service of Kuchma’s Ukraine Foundation, the former president supports their initiative “for the sake of civil peace and working out ways for Ukraine’s development.”

“Everybody understands that it is necessary to reach a compromise in settling the political crisis in the country,” Kuchma said. “It should also be born in mind that in this situation people are not secured against possible provocations.”

Earlier, Kuchma condemned the use of force when the police had pushed the protesters from Kiev’s central Independence Square overnight to Wednesday. “When such a situation emerges, it should be settled peacefully… Settlement mechanisms can always be found,” he said.

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