Berlin, Paris summon Ukraine ambassador over protest response

Germany, France and several other European countries said today they had summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in their respective capitals to protest Kiev's response to pro-EU protests in which activists say five people have died.
"We want to show that we are serious with our criticism," German foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer told reporters, after the French government made the same move.
"We expect the ambassador to pass on our message immediately to the Ukrainian government."
He added that Germany would stress its objections to draconian anti-protest laws Ukraine passed last week.
"We hope and assume that the government and the opposition have recognised that violence is senseless and that any new escalation with more casualties will not bring about anything good for Ukraine," he said.

"We support the efforts of the European Union to encourage dialogue in Kiev."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the summoning of the Ukrainian ambassador was to express its "condemnation" of the government's response to protests in Kiev, saying security forces had been ordered to open fire on demonstrators.
Schaefer also said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kozhara, and opposition leader and world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko earlier today.
In the talks with Kozhara, Steinmeier "asked him to stop the use of force against peaceful protesters".
Schaefer later acknowledged that some demonstrators had also engaged in violence and urged both sides to refrain from such acts.

Norway, Sweden and Estonia also summoned the Ukrainian ambassadors in their capitals today, while Poland and Latvia took the action from Wednesday.
In the Irish capital, Dublin, the Ukrainian ambassador was invited, not summoned, for a meeting at the foreign ministry yesterday, and the Bulgarian president announced earlier in the week he was postponing a visit to Ukraine planned in May.
Meanwhile the Dutch foreign minister phoned his Ukrainian counterpart today to voice his concern, a spokesman said.