KYIV. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian leadership will have to use force stipulated by the law unless the protesters in the center of Kyiv stop their confrontation with security forces, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.
"If the instigators don't stop, the authorities will have no choice other than to use force stipulated by the law and safeguard our people," Azarov said in an interview with the Russian news TV channel Rossiya-24 shown on Tuesday night.
At the same time, the Ukrainian prime minister expressed the hope that common sense will prevail.
There is no need for declaring a state of emergency in Ukraine, as the government has enough resources and ways to settle the problem, he said.
Azarov noted that, while the opposition is seeking to gain power in Ukraine, a lot of issues could be resolved using other methods, including through negotiations.
"Do you want to amend the electoral procedure? Let's think how. Do you want any guarantees of the electoral process? Let's think what guarantees can be given," he said.
Azarov also commented on new laws concerning involvement in mass events and offences committed during such, which were earlier passed by the Verkhovna Rada and enacted by the president and which took effect on Wednesday.
"The laws have taken effect today, they took effect at the moment of their publication, and therefore everything that happened before today would fall under the jurisdiction of the previous laws. But anything that happens today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and in the later periods is within the jurisdiction of the new laws," Azarov said.