Agency :
Ukraine’s parliament has postponed until Thursday plans to elect a new national unity government, following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych
Ukraine’s parliament speaker and acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, made the announcement on Tuesday, the day on which the legislature was due to unveil its new leaders.
Reports said the delay is meant to allow for further consultations on the issue.
On Monday, the interim government in Ukraine issued an arrest warrant for ousted president Yanukovych, accusing him and other officials of mass murder of anti-government protesters.
Acting interior minister Arsen Avakhov said Yanukovych was last seen in the pro-Russian Crimea region of Ukraine, but that the ousted leader’s exact whereabouts are not clear.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine’s new authorities, saying they had come to power in what “in its essence is the result of an armed mutiny.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry charged that “dictatorial and sometimes terrorist methods” are being used in various regions of Ukraine to pressure those who disagree with the change in government.
On Sunday, Russia recalled its ambassador to Kyiv for consultations on what it described as the “deteriorating situation in Ukraine.” A Russian Foreign Ministry statement cited a need for “a comprehensive analysis” of developments in Kyiv.
Medvedev said Monday that the ambassador was recalled because “there is a threat to our interests, to the lives and health of our people” in Ukraine.
The United States and Britain have warned Russia not to send forces into Ukraine. US National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Russian military intervention would be a “grave mistake.”
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton traveled Monday to Kyiv, where she met with Ukraine’s parliament speaker, who was made the country’s acting president Sunday. Ashton also met with political party leaders, including Vitali Klitschko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
