M. Azarov: It's too bad that during the mass unrest people suffered

“The Government feels regret that in the recent events some people suffered. They are our people, they are citizens of Ukraine. We don’t want them suffer,” Mykola Azarov said.

At the same time the Prime Minister emphasized that he believed in sound mind of the opposition and that by way of a compromise and negotiations this complicated situation could be solved.

“I believe in the sound mind of our opposition leaders and I believe and the European politicians who express their views to demonstrate restraint possess enough levers of influence on our oppositionists. And if we show a united front and take the single position of the compromise to solve all the political questions not in the street, but in the Parliament, around the negotiating table, I think we will achieve understanding very fast,” Mykola Azarov announced.

The Head of Government stressed that a detailed investigation must be conducted concerning how the people were dying in the process of the mass riots. The Prime Minister added that on the preliminary data the citizens had died from gunshot wounds made from a slug gun with hand-made bullets.

“Just agree that there is no such weapon in the inventory of the militia. These two facts prove that not militia used the weapon, so possibly it is necessary even creating of a two-way commission to make a deep comprehensive investigation and they will give an answer to this question,” Mykola Azarov noted. He added he considered this crime had been made by the provocateurs who wished to complicate the situation.

The Prime Minister doesn’t exclude that the adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on January 16 laws could undergo amending, but here is necessary the constructive cooperation with the opposition. He noted specialists of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission could be involved into this work.

 “You raise a question about European integration – let’s sit round the negotiation table and solve how we will move in this direction. You raise a question about a guarantee of holding the democratic elections - let’s sit round the negotiation table and think how to make a respective legislation. You are not satisfied with the adopted laws which introduce an elementary order under the conditions of mass unrest – let’s see together what you consider insufficiently democratic in the mentioned laws. In particular, I have discussed today with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland a question of participation of the experts of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission. Lets’ work in such large format together and make normal laws as you and we are to live in our country,” Mykola Azarov said.