Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine

The agreement aimed to reduce bloodshed at the Euromaidan demonstrations in Kyiv, which had become significantly more violent during the Revolution of Dignity and resulted in the deaths of over 100 people.

It also sought to end the political crisis caused by Euromaidan, which had begun in November 2013 in response to Ukrainian authorities' decision to suspend the signing of the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.

The opposition was represented by Vitali Klitschko (of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform), Arseniy Yatsenyuk (of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland") and Oleh Tyahnybok (of Svoboda).

[3] Concerned with the tragic loss of life in Ukraine, seeking an immediate end of bloodshed and determined to pave the way for a political resolution of the crisis, We, the signing parties, have agreed upon the following: 1.

Illegal weapons should be handed over to the Ministry of Interior bodies within 24 hours of the special law, referred to in point 1 hereof, coming into force.

The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Poland and the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation call for an immediate end to all violence and confrontation.

[citation needed] The leader of the Right Sector, Dmytro Yarosh, refused to comply with the agreement and stated that it did not provide a clear commitment to the President's resignation, the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada, and the punishment of heads of law enforcement agencies and those who issued "criminal orders, which had killed about a hundred Ukrainian citizens".

[8] Russian President Vladimir Putin later described the Agreement as a practical surrender of power because Yanukovych agreed to all demands of the opposition.

[9] Viktor Yanukovych stated:[10] The opposition and radical forces, represented on the Maidan [...and] in other regions, they had to disarm and vacate all the occupied territories.

But considering what happened next, it's difficult to describe it with any positive terms.During an appeal on 28 March, 2014, Yanukovych said: "I will work to ensure the lawful implementation of 21 February agreement and will make every effort to organize it effectively.

[11] On 2 April 2014, Yanukovych gave an interview to Russian and foreign media:[12] Immediately after the signing of the agreement, I began to fulfill the obligations that the government assumed.

Yet I didn't even hear words of condemnation against the bandits, who began to be called activists.After voting to remove Yanukovych, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister of Ukraine.

[...] If Yanukovych wanted to maintain his declared reputation as the legitimate head of state, he should have asserted his unconditional execution of powers and at least vetoed the laws passed by the Parliament.

However, to do this, he needed to remain in his position.According to U.S. permanent representative to the UN Samantha Power: "It was Yanukovych who failed to abide by the terms of that agreement, fleeing Kyiv, and ultimately Ukraine".

Illegal weapons were not surrendered, public buildings and streets in Kyiv were not completely cleared, and radicals continue to control cities.

He went to the event in Kharkiv, and as soon as he had left for Kharkiv, instead of vacating the previously occupied administrative buildings, [the protestors] immediately seized the presidential residence and the governmental offices, instead of trying to fulfill what we had agreed.The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland (Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Laurent Fabius and Radosław Sikorski) urged the new Ukrainian government to respect the agreement of 21 February.