US Secretary of State John Kerry offered his support Tuesday to Ukrainians protesting for closer ties between their country and the European Union, as he urged the government in Kiev to listen to their demands, dpa reported.
"There is very powerful evidence of people who would like to be associated with Europe," he told journalists after meeting with NATO counterparts in Brussels. "We stand with the vast majority of the Ukrainians who want to see this future for their country."
"We urge the Ukrainian government to listen to the voices of its people who want to live in freedom and in opportunity and prosperity," he added, warning also that "violence has no place in a modern European state."
Kerry indirectly criticized Russian pressure on Ukraine, pointing to the "rather overt - and we think inappropriate - bidding war with respect to the choice that might or might not be made" when it comes to Ukraine's EU ambitions.