New York Times: Time for a deal in Ukraine
The political crisis in Ukraine has reached a critical turning point, at which each side must consider what it stands to lose from further conflict. On Saturday, President Viktor Yanukovych unexpectedly offered serious concessions to opponents camped out on the Maidan, as Independence Square in Kiev is known, including senior government posts to two of the opposition leaders. On Tuesday, his prime minister and close political ally, Mykola Azarov, resigned, while the Parliament voted to repeal most of the laws passed earlier in the crisis limiting freedom of speech and assembly. Then on Thursday, the president went on sick leave, but without signing into law the repeal, leaving both the measure and a broader, negotiated solution with the opposition hanging in the air.