Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Friday that he would hold talks with opposition leaders, signaling a first political movement after three weeks of mass anti-government protests, dpa reported. The announcement came after the release from detention of several opposition activists, meaning that a key demand of the protesters has now been fulfilled. Boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, the head of the Udar ("punch") opposition party, said that he would attend the talks with Yanukovych, planned for later on Friday in Kiev. The Fatherland party of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said that a vote among protesters on Kiev's Independence Square had mandated party leaders to also participate in the meeting. Earlier Friday, the protesters widened the area they have occupied in the capital's centre beyond Freedom Square. Police did not interfere against the setting up of new tents. More than 4,000 protesters spent the night on the square, while some 1,900 police officers were patrolling the city centre, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said. The standoff began three weeks ago after Yanukovych's government said that it would not sign a long-awaited agreement with the European Union. The protesters want the government to resign and call early elections.
