Ukranian rivals sit down and talk

The rivals at war over the Ukrainian presidency sat down and talked tonight with the man they both hope to succeed and European and Russian envoys.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma hosted the talks in Kiev with reformist opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

The long-awaited talks came after six days of massive street protests in the capital against alleged election fraud, which the opposition says robbed Yuschenko of victory in last Sunday’s presidential run-off. The West also criticised the vote as marred by fraud.

European envoys arrived in Kiev today in an effort to help solve the political crisis which has threatened to erupt into violence. Kuchma’s government certified pro-Moscow Yanukovych as the winner, but Western-leaning Yushchenko claims he was victorious.

The result was frozen by the Supreme Court following an opposition appeal and will rule on Monday.

Also at tonight’s meeting was EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, Boris Gryzlov, speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, and Jan Kubis, the current head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Kuchma, who admitted “the situation is more than difficult,” thanked the envoys for “making every effort so that these negotiations take place not on the street – which can never give a positive result – but around a negotiating table.”

Yushchenko had previously said he would negotiate only with Kuchma, and that the main condition for holding talks was the president’s acknowledgement that the election was invalid.

But Kuchma – what wants his pro-Moscow premier to win – did shown any sign of backing down.

“Any revolution must end in peace,” Kuchma said. “The sooner this so-called revolution ends, the better it will be for the Ukrainian people.”

The name Ukraine literally means “at the edge,” and its 48 million people has been there since the ever-escalating political crisis created by the election.

Throngs of Yushchenko supporters have set up a sprawling tent camp along a main avenue and square in Kiev, braving freezing temperatures for five straight nights.

Yanukovych, meanwhile, rallied thousands of his supporters waving his blue-and-white campaign flags in front of Kiev’s rail station. Many had apparently arrived in buses and trains from Ukraine’s industrial east, Yanukovych’s main support base.

“I don’t need power at the cost of spilled blood,” Yanukovych said .

In Chernihiv, about 80 miles north of Kiev, police fired smoke charges over the heads of a pro-Yushchenko crowd after someone threw an “explosive packet” at a police cordon outside the mayor’s office, police said.

In Kiev, protesters standing five deep and linking arms blockaded the Cabinet building where Yanukovych works and refused to let staff enter.

Protesters also blocked surrounding streets with buses and vans decorated with Yushchenko’s orange flags, posters and ribbons. Apart from a few traffic policemen wearing orange armbands, there were no police present in the immediate vicinity. However, special forces had parked some 30 trucks and jeeps in an alley and police were packed into about 12 buses nearby.

Protesters also surrounded the presidential administration building, which was heavily guarded by police in riot gear.

The crisis has threatened to further divide Ukraine, and raised the prospect of civil conflict. Yanukovych drew his support from the pro-Russian, heavily industrialised eastern half of Ukraine. Yushchenko’s strength was in the west, a traditional centre of nationalism.