Ukraine opposition refuses to abandon protest after amnesty

Ukraine's opposition today vowed further protests after defiantly rejecting an amnesty bill to free activists and ease the ex-Soviet country's worse crisis since independence.

The parliament passed an amnesty bill yesterday with backing from the ruling Regions Party, but the opposition rejected its conditions and a breakthrough appeared unlikely.

President Viktor Yanukovych has granted several concessions to protesters who have packed the centre of Kiev for the last two months, including accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. But the opposition wants the head of state to go.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after meeting Yanukovych that it was time for "real dialogue" to start and for "the violence and intimidation" to stop.

In a move that is likely to complicate matters further, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Moscow would wait until a new government is formed in Ukraine before it considers releasing a crucial USD 15 billion bailout package for Kiev in full.

Analysts say the Kremlin may back out of the deal if it saw a staunchly anti-Russian government come to power in Ukraine, and the EU may end up having to bail out the former Soviet nation.

Three activists were shot dead in clashes in Kiev last week, but tensions have calmed somewhat since negotiations between the government and the opposition gained traction.

However, there still appears to be no easy way out of a crisis which will influence the future orientation of the nation of 46 million people sandwiched between Russia and the EU.

Putin yesterday discussed the crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Kremlin said, stressing that "any outside interference is unacceptable."

Merkel for her part told Putin to push for a "constructive dialogue" to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, her office said.