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| Ukraine Police End Standoff With Protesters - Voice of America Posted: 11 Dec 2013 08:58 AM PST Security forces have pulled back from a protest camp around a central square in Ukraine's capital after clashes between police and pro-European Union demonstrators. Scuffles between the two groups took place early Wednesday inside Kyiv's city hall, as police wielding batons tried to drive protesters out of the building. Reports say the protesters fought back by spraying water from fire hoses at the security forces. Police buses were later reported to be leaving the area. Hours earlier, security agents stormed a protest encampment in the square and ripped down a tent city erected by the demonstrators. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who spoke to protesters in Kyiv's Independence Square Wednesday, said she complained to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych about the police use of force. "I made it absolutely clear to him that what happened last night, what has been happening in security terms here is absolutely impermissible in a European state, in a democratic state." Ukraine's interior ministry later called for calm and said there would be no dispersal of demonstrators in the square. Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko said however that the recent police actions make negotiations with President Yanukovych impossible. The protests began in late November, after the Ukrainian president backed away from a long-anticipated trade deal with the European Union, in favor of repairing and improving economic and political ties with Russia. On Wednesday Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Ukraine is requesting $27.5 billion in financial assistance from the European Union before it signs an association agreement with the 28-nation bloc. Mr. Azarov said Ukraine is inviting the European Commission to consider under what conditions Ukraine's industry and economy will work. Both European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland arrived in Kyiv Tuesday to meet with senior government and opposition leaders in a push to ease the crisis. Ashton, who met with the Ukrainian leader for a second day of talks Wednesday, also condemned the crackdown on demonstrators. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met with three former Ukrainian presidents, launching so-called round table talks reportedly aimed at the same objective. In a nationally televised address following his meeting with his predecessors, Mr. Yanukovych called for the release of protesters arrested after a violent police crackdown November 30. He said good relations with both Russia and the European Union are necessary to protect the country's interests. Moscow is seeking to form a trade bloc of former Soviet republics and satellite countries to rival the European Union, and has in recent months exerted strong economic pressure on its impoverished neighbor to scuttle the EU deal. Earlier this year, it imposed restrictions on goods from Ukraine, cutting Ukrainian exports by 25 percent and dragging the country into recession. Russia is Ukraine's largest foreign investor, trading partner and chief natural gas supplier. Moscow is reported to be dangling a deal with Ukraine that includes a $9 billion annual discount on gas pipeline shipments. Analysts say Kyiv, which has also secured recent investment deals with China, still needs about $18 billion in outside help to pay government debt and meet energy payments to Russia by early 2014. |
| Boehner lashes out at conservative groups on budget deal - NBCNews.com Posted: 11 Dec 2013 09:34 AM PST By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News Republican leaders defended a modest budget deal that would maintain government operations through 2015 amid conservative opposition that could scuttle the legislation in the House. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, lashed out at conservative advocacy groups that have encouraged GOP lawmakers to oppose a budget framework unveiled last night by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Chuck Todd reports on the budget deal presented by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray. "They're using our members and they're using the American people for their own goals," an animated Boehner told reporters at the Capitol. "This is ridiculous." Ryan and Murray, the top budget officials in their respective chambers, announced an agreement that would set baseline spending levels for the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years. The agreement calls for spending levels slightly above the cap established by the automatic spending cuts known as the "sequester" through a combination of reforms, cuts and new, non-tax revenue. Conservative groups had been girding themselves against the deal before its details were finalized, mostly because the spending levels exceed sequester levels. The Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity and Heritage Action -- each of them well-financed conservative advocacy groups that hold some sway over Republican primary voters -- have begun lobbying furiously against the modest government funding agreement. "By having a budget agreement that does not raise taxes, that does reduce the deficit and produces some certainty and prevents government shutdowns -- we think is a good agreement," Ryan, the architect of the budget agreement, said after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans. Of the package's prospects for passage, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee added: "We feel very good at where we are with our members." The Republican leadership's struggle to manage its restive conservative flank is a familiar storyline to any observer of Congress over the past three years. Boehner's decision to side with conservatives and drive a hard bargain over government spending and the Affordable Care Act contributed in large part to the government shutdown in October that nearly threatened default on the national debt. If conservatives balk at supporting the legislation, Boehner would need to turn to Democrats to help advance the package through the House. The speaker did just that in passing legislation to end the government shutdown earlier this year. Some high-profile conservatives have already stated their opposition to the legislation, though, including two contenders for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2016: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. This story was originally published on Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:29 AM EST |
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