Fabius to Meet Ukraine Opposition Leader Klitschko

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday he would meet boxing champion turned Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko for talks in Paris on Wednesday.

"I will officially receive Mr. Klitschko at the Quai d'Orsay (foreign ministry headquarters) on Wednesday," Fabius told France 3 television, as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians rallied in Kiev for a new protest aimed at forcing President Viktor Yanukovych from power.

"We are in favor of the signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. The president doesn't want this and so now it is up to Ukrainians to decide," Fabius said.

Protests in Ukraine have raged for more than two weeks after the government abruptly decided to drop political and free trade agreements with the EU in favor of tighter Russian ties.