The West needs to send mediators to Ukraine or risk allowing the country's political crisis to spiral out of control, said an opposition leader Saturday after a meeting with an EU official, according to dpa. "It will be hard to end the crisis without mediation from our Western partners," said Arseniy Yatsenyuk after a meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule. He specifically called for intervention by the Council of Europe. Yatsenyuk mooted the idea of a special Ukrainian parliament committee cooperating with the Council to investigate "crimes" committed during recent weeks of sometimes bloody street protests against the government. Ukraine has been convulsed by protests for weeks now. The demonstrations have been led by pro-European activists incensed that President Viktor Yanukovych opted against an association agreement with the European Union in November, choosing closer relations with Russia instead. Three deaths have been confirmed amid the protests this week. After talks with Yanukovych, Yatsenyuk and other opposition leaders, Fule urged calm and called for dialogue. He said violence must end, after which political steps could be taken to end the crisis. "I stressed to my Ukrainian partners that the EU would remain engaged in this process assisting them in de-escalating the situation and finding a way out of the crisis," he said. More fighting was reported overnight in Kiev, with demonstrators throwing rocks and flaming objects at securit forces. Police resonded with flash grenades. Some of the protesters' barricades were set on fire.
