The talks came as protests continued unabated in Kiev and
elsewhere
Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych is holding fresh
talks with opposition leaders, hours after a minister said
efforts to peacefully resolve the ongoing unrest were
"futile".
Several leaders of parliamentary groups were at the talks,
the presidency said.
The meeting came after demonstrators stormed and briefly
occupied the energy ministry in Kiev and as protests
continued in cities across Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukraine's interior minister said talks with protesters
had failed.
Vitaliy Zakharchenko - in charge of the police and one of the
figures most despised by the protesters - blamed "radical
groups" for the unrest, adding that protesters had arms.
"The events of recent days in the Ukrainian capital showed
that our attempts to peacefully resolve the conflict without
resorting to forceful opposition remain futile," he added.
Four protesters and a policeman are reported to have died
in demonstrations that began last year after the
government's rejection of a treaty with the EU.
The crisis escalated this week when two activists were
killed during clashes with police, and another was found
dead with torture marks in a forest near the capital.
A 45-year-old protester is said to have died in a Kiev
hospital on Saturday, after sustaining injuries in earlier
violence.
President Viktor Yanukovych earlier promised to make
concessions to try to end the country's crisis, pledging to
amend anti-protest laws and reshuffle the cabinet.
But Vitaly Klitschko - one of the opposition leaders invited
to the Yanukovych talks - said the protesters now wanted
the president to resign.
Although the protest movement -the "EuroMaidan" - is
largely peaceful, a hardcore of radicals have been fighting
pitched battles with police away from the main protest on
Independence Square.
Mr Zakharchenko accused opposition of no longer able to
control "radical forces" and of putting civilians in danger.
He also said that activists had shot a police officer and
kidnapped three others - allegations denied as "false and
dangerous" by protest leaders.
Later on Saturday, Mr Zakharchenko said protesters had
released two officers, who were subsequently sent to
hospital. Again, protesters called his words a provocation.
The situation in Kiev remained tense on Saturday after a
night of clashes between protesters and riot police
Orthodox priests have been urging security forces to refrain
from using violence
But the government now says peaceful negotiations have
yielded no results, blaming the violence on "extremist"
groups
The protests are taking place amid snowfall and freezing
temperatures
Protesters have seized a number of government buildings in
Ukrainian cities outside Kiev, particularly in the west, which
has traditionally favoured closer ties with Europe.
In the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, some 1,500
protesters occupied the regional administration and
barricaded themselves in the building. They are now
demanding that the local governor should resign
immediately.
In Chernivsti, also in the west, crowds stormed the
governor's office as police tried to protect the building.
People shouted "Shame on you!" and "Resign!"
In Lutsk, in the north-west, a big demonstration was
being held outside the local administration.
Regional offices were being blockaded in the western
city of Uzhgorod and unrest was reported in the eastern
city of Sumy.
In Lviv, protesters have built barricades around the
governor's office that they seized on Thursday. There
were also reports that some members of the special
police, Berkut, were resigning.
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