阿什顿：乌克兰“打算签署”欧盟协议

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Ukraine\'s President Viktor Yanukovic "intends to sign" a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU that he rejected last month, setting off massive anti-government protests.

Ashton spoke to reporters in Brussels Thursday, after holding talks with Mr. Yanukovich in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. She said it is clear that the short-term economic and financial issues Ukraine faces can be alleviated by signing the association agreement, bringing in fresh investment from EU nations.

"Look, Yanukovych made it clear to me that he intends to sign the association agreement. What he talked about were the short-term economic issues that the country faces. And it is my view that those challenges, which are real, can be addressed by the support that not only comes from the European Union institutions, but actually by showing that he has a serious economic plan in signing the association agreement also will help to bring in the kind of investment that he needs."

Meanwhile, anti-government protests continue, with demonstrators calling for closer ties with the European Union.

After riot police converged on thousands of protesters in Kyiv\'s Independence Square Wednesday, the United States denounced the police actions and said it is considering its response, including possible sanctions.

Opposition leaders in Kyiv have rejected a call by President Yanukovych for talks aimed at ending the protests against his recent move to step back from the EU trade deal, in favor of boosting ties with Russia.

阿什顿在乌克兰首都基辅与亚努科维奇会谈之后，星期四在布鲁萨尔对新闻媒体说，乌克兰所面临的短期经济与金融问题，显然可以通过签署欧盟联系国协议来加以缓解，因为协议将引来欧盟国家的新投资。

她说：“亚努科维奇明确向我表示，他打算签署联系国协议。他谈到了乌克兰面临的短期经济问题。在我看来，这些挑战虽然都是切实存在的，但可以得到帮助来解决这些问题，这种帮助不仅仅来自欧盟机构。通过签署联系国协议，他将显示他有认真的经济方案，这也将帮助吸引他所需要的投资。”

与此同时，反政府抗议仍在持续。示威者要求和欧盟加强联系。

星期三，防暴警察大批集结，逼近基辅独立广场上成千上万的抗议者，随后美国谴责了警方的行动，并表示正在考虑对此作出回应，包括可能采取制裁行动。

总统亚努科维奇呼吁展开对话，以结束抗议，但基辅的反对派领袖拒绝了他的要求。亚努科维奇最近拒绝与欧盟签约，转而决定加强与俄罗斯的关系，此举引发了抗议浪潮。