UK foreign secretary hails proposals for talks in Kyiv to settle crisis

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has welcomed the Ukrainian government's readiness to hold talks in Kyiv to settle the political crisis and said he deplored the violence that took place in Kyiv on Sunday.

"There are, of course, now talks about to take place between the parties. We welcome that, but we deplore the violence that took place last night," he said ahead of a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, which will be held in Brussels on Monday.

Hague also described as a "serious mistake" the laws adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on January 16, "with restrictions on the activities of the opposition."