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                        Ukraine Girds for More Protests

   Ukraine`s opposition leaders are calling for a new mass protest on
   Sunday, while supporters of President Viktor Yanukovych also plan a
   rally just a kilometer away.
   Members of the opposition held direct talks with President Yanukovych
   Friday for the first time in more than three weeks of mass
   anti-government protests.
   But opposition leaders emerged from the meeting, which included other
   political and civil society representatives, saying the president
   failed to meet their demands.
   Among other things, the head of the Udar, or "Punch," party -- Vitaly
   Klitschko -- and Ukraine`s other main opposition leaders are calling
   for the release of jailed protesters.
   The Ukrainian president has proposed amnesty for those arrested in the
   protests. But that was not enough for the opposition, which called for
   Mr. Yanukovych and his government to step down.
   U.S. Senators John McCain, a leading Republican, and Chris Murphy, the
   Democratic chairman of the Senate`s Europe subcommittee, will visit
   Ukraine on Sunday for talks with government officials, opposition and
   civil society leaders.
   Aides said Friday that senators issued a resolution calling for the
   United States to consider sanctions in case there is further violence
   against peaceful demonstrators.
   The measure, which would be subject to approval by the Senate, said
   President Barack Obama`s administration and the U.S. Congress should
   consider sanctions, including visa bans and assets freezes, against
   anyone responsible for the violence.
   The demonstrations erupted after the Ukrainian leader decided not to
   sign a long-awaited European Union trade pact in order to avoid losing
   trade with Russia. Ukrainian police responded with a crackdown.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ukraine-girds-for-more-protests/1810258.html