海角大神

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he reached agreement with opposition leaders on a "truce" to halt fighting that has killed 26 people, even as the聽United States聽stepped up pressure by imposing travel bans on 20 senior Ukrainian officials.

A statement on the presidential website announced an accord for "the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing the situation in the state in the interest of social peace."

Responding cautiously, U.S. President聽Barack Obama聽deemed the truce a "welcome step forward," but said the聽White House聽would continue to monitor the situation closely to "ensure that actions mirror words."

"My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama told a news conference in聽Mexico聽after a North American summit.

A tense standoff between protesters and riot police continued early on Thursday in聽Kiev, where the foreign ministers of聽France,聽Germany聽and聽Poland聽will later meet Yanukovich before returning to聽Brussels聽for a meeting of all 28聽European Union聽foreign ministers to decide on targeted sanctions against those deemed responsible for the violence.

Yanukovich, backed by聽Russia, had denounced the bloodshed in central聽Kiev, where protesters have been dug in for almost three months since he spurned a trade deal with the聽European Union聽in favor of closer Russian ties, as an attempted coup.

His security service said it had launched a nationwide "anti-terrorist operation" after arms and ammunition dumps were looted.

The violence, the worst since Ukraine's independence from the聽Soviet Union聽22 years ago, provoked a chorus of condemnation from the West.

EU ambassadors discussed a series of possible steps including asset freezes and travel bans in talks on Wednesday, even though some diplomats have doubts about the effectiveness of such sanctions.

"The聽European Union聽will respond to the deterioration on the ground, including via targeted measures,"European Council聽President聽Herman Van Rompuy聽said in a statement, while holding out the possibility of trade and political agreement with Ukraine聽if it meets goals agreed on with the EU.

Jumping out ahead of its EU allies,聽Washington聽late on Wednesday imposed U.S. visa bans on 20聽Ukrainian government聽officials it considered "responsible for ordering human rights abuses related to political oppression," a senior State Department official said.

"These individuals represent the full chain of command we consider responsible for ordering the security forces to move against" the protesters, the official said.

While declining to name those affected by the bans, which bar them from applying for visas to travel to the聽United States, the U.S. official said the restrictions were easily reversible if the situation improved.

Yanukovich excluded聽

While EU officials said they were considering targeted sanctions for the "unjustified use of excessive force by the Ukrainian authorities," they noted Yanukovich himself would be excluded from such measures in order to keep channels of dialogue open.

As well as asset freezes and visa bans, ministers will discuss measures to stop riot gear and other equipment being exported to Ukraine聽and could consider arms restrictions.

The聽United States, going head to head with聽Russia聽in a dispute heavy with echoes of the Cold War, had urged Yanukovich to pull back riot police, call a truce and talk to the opposition. But聽Washington聽appears to have little direct leverage in the crisis.

Despite that, the聽Obama administration聽has invited the leaders of聽Georgia聽and聽Moldova聽to visit聽Washington聽in the next two weeks, congressional aides said on Wednesday, in what appeared to be an effort to show U.S. support for neighbors of聽Russia聽concerned about the crisis in Ukraine.

While attending the North American summit, Obama called on Ukraine's armed forces to stay out of the conflict and warned there would be consequences for those who "step over the line." The聽Pentagon聽said Ukrainian military intervention would harm "our defense relationship."

Ukraine, a sprawling country of 46 million with an ailing economy and endemic corruption, is the object of a tug-of-war at a global level between聽Moscow聽and the West. But the struggle was played out at close quarters, hand to hand, in fighting through Tuesday night on聽Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan.

Russian Foreign Minister聽Sergei Lavrov聽blamed the West for encouraging opposition radicals "to act outside of the law."

Obama disagreed when asked at聽the Mexico news聽conference if the crises in Ukraine聽and聽Syria聽reflected difficulties between聽Washington聽and聽Moscow, saying: "Our approach in the United States is not to see these as some Cold War chessboard in which we're in competition with聽Russia.

"Our goal is to make sure that the people of Ukraine聽are able to make decisions for themselves for the future, that the people of聽Syria聽are able to make decisions without having bombs going off and killing women and children," he said.

Fires were still blazing along the barricaded frontline between the protesters and riot police, but there was no immediate sign of a repetition of Tuesday's violence.

Moscow聽announced on Monday it would resume stalled aid to聽Kiev, pledging $2 billion just hours before the crackdown began. The money has not yet arrived, and a聽Ukrainian government聽source said it had been delayed until Friday "for technical reasons."

Ukraine's hryvnia currency, flirting with its lowest levels since the global financial crisis five years ago, weakened to more than 9 per dollar for the second time this month.

Pressure on the president聽

Yanukovich said he had refrained from using force during three months of unrest but was being pressed by "advisers" to take a harder line: "Without any mandate from the people, illegally and in breach of the constitution of Ukraine, these politicians - if I may use that term - have resorted to pogroms, arson and murder to try to seize power," he said.

He declared Thursday a day of mourning for the dead. The聽state security service聽said it had opened an investigation into illegal attempts by "individual politicians" to seize power.

One opposition leader, former world champion boxer Vitaly Klitschko, had walked out of talks with Yanukovich over Tuesday night, saying he could not negotiate while blood was being spilled.

Apparently with an eye to possible sanctions that might have consequences for big business interests, three of Ukraine's richest entrepreneurs have stepped up pressure on Yanukovich to hold back from use of force and make every effort to solve the crisis through negotiation with the opposition.

"There are no circumstances which justify the use of force toward the peaceful population," steel and coal magnate Rinat Akhmetov said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

Akhmetov, who partly bankrolled Yanukovich's election campaign in 2010 and whose wealth is put by Forbes at more than $15 billion, said: "People's deaths and injuries on the side of protesters and the security forces in street battles are an unacceptable price for political mistakes."

Viktor Pinchuk, another steel billionaire well known in the West for his philanthropic activity, said: "A peaceful solution must be found. It is imperative to refrain from the use of force and find a compromise. ... It is time for all sides to take courageous steps toward compromise."

Dmytro Firtash, a gas and chemicals magnate who is part owner of popular TV channel Inter, said in a statement: We, through our joint actions, must end the bloodshed. We are against radical actions by whomever it might be."

(Additional reporting by Matt Robinson, Marcin Goettig and Pavel Polityuk in聽Kiev, Sylvia Westall in Kuwait, Adrian Croft in聽Brussels, 海角大神 Lowe in Warsaw, Matt Spetalnick, Lesley Wroughton, Phil Stewart, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton and Steve Holland in聽Washington, Mark Felsenthal in Toluca,聽Mexico; Writing by聽Richard Balmforth聽and Matt Spetalnick; editing by Will Waterman, G Crosse and Peter Cooney)