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Opposition lawmakers blocking work on Ukrainian parliament

KIEV, January 14. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, has failed to begin its evening session on Tuesday as the opposition continues to block its work urging to satisfy its demands.

Earlier on Tuesday, lawmakers of the opposition factions Batkivshchina (Fatherland), UDAR and Svoboda (Liberty) demanded resignation of the Nikolai Azarov government, consideration of the state budget for 2014 in line with a regular procedure and dissolution of special riot police units that use force against protesters. “Political responsibility for the crisis in the country rests on the Azarov government, including Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko,” Batkivshchnina faction leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a briefing.

The opposition also demands that the draft budget “go through three readings at the Verkhovna Rada,” Sergei Sobolev of the Batkivshchina faction told Itar-Tass. “So, we shall insist on a break to have this issue discussed with the parliament leaders.”

Over a six-hour break, leaders of the Rada factions had consultations with speaker Vladimir Rybak.