In a move that is set to heighten Russian displeasure, the newly designated interim President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov said that the nation would now focus on closer ties with the European Union.
Meanwhile an arrest warrant has been issued against Viktor Yanukovych whose whereabouts remain unclear, reported the BBC.
Arsen Avakov, who was appointed the country’s interior minister just a couple of days ago, wrote on his Facebook page, that a probe has been begun against Yanukovych for the “mass murder”, referring to the death of 82 people last week in the clashes around the Independence Square.
“An official case for the mass murder of peaceful citizens has been opened… Yanukovych and other people responsible for this have been declared wanted,” Arsen Avakov wrote in a facebook post.
Though there are no official reports about Yanukovych’s whereabouts, a news agency reported that he had been spotted in Crimean Peninsula.
Hours after being appointed the interim head of the state, Turchynov in a televised address on Sunday said that the main priority was to set up “a government of the people” for which he earlier set a deadline of Tuesday.
He added that Ukraine’s top priority would be to get back to the path of European integration and stabilise its economy.
The Ukrainian economy, according to the experts, has already plummeted to the pre-default conditions and needed a speedy solution to spare the nation a default.
Turchynov added that the new Ukrainian government would be willing to establish relation with Russia on a “new, equal and good-neighbourly footing”, however Moscow must recognises “Ukraine’s European choice”.
Russia has meanwhile, recalled its ambassador from Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, for consultations on the deteriorating situation in Kiev. Moscow has blamed the situation in Kiev on the opposition, saying that it has seized the power forcefully from Viktor Yanukovych.
Though Russia’s next moves are not clear, the US has warned Moscow against any military intervention.
Talking to the NBC’s “Meet the Press”, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said that any such act on part of Russia would be a “grave mistake”.
“It’s not in the interest of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see the country split,” she said.
