KYIV. Feb 20 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has promised that there will be no new police attempts to storm the main protest site in Kyiv's Independence Square (Maidan), the leader of the UDAR opposition party, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, said after talks at the presidential administration on Wednesday evening.
"Yanukovych assured us that there would be no more storming of the Maidan. It means that we are effectively speaking about a truce because the most important thing is to stop the bloodshed that was provoked and unleashed by the authorities. Let's see how Yanukovych will keep his promise following all the threats of sanctions from the West," Klitschko said.
During their meeting on Wednesday, the president and the opposition leaders agreed to resume negotiations and declare a truce on the Maidan, the UDAR press service said.
The next round of talks with Yanukovych will be held on Thursday.
The presidential press service reported earlier that Yanukovych had agreed a truce with the leaders of opposition factions, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Vitali Klitschko and Oleh Tyahnybok, saying that negotiations would now start aimed at ending the bloodshed, stabilizing the situation in the country and reaching social peace.
The meeting between Yanukovych, Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Rybak and the opposition leaders was also attended by presidential chief-of-staff Andriy Klyuyev, his first deputy Andriy Portnov and acting Justice Minister Olena Lukash.