Germany Urges Stop to Violence in Ukraine

Germany's foreign minister on Sunday urged Ukrainians to refrain from violence and to reach a political solution to escalating unrest.

"The daily television images from Kiev and many Ukrainian regions show that the situation is not only tense but truly serious," said the minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"The coming days could decide Ukraine's path into the future," he said in a statement.

Ukraine is suffering its worst crisis since the former Soviet republic's independence in 1991. Clashes between demonstrators and police in Kiev and beyond have left at least three people dead.

The protests first erupted when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a key deal with the EU in November, opting for closer ties with former master Russia instead.

Steinmeier warned that "Ukraine's path into a self-determined future is surely not the path of violence, from whichever side it comes."

"I am convinced, even if the situation is this difficult, that a political solution remains possible and must be sought."

Recent political changes that limit the rights of people and parties "must be reversed or at least decisively changed," he said, adding that Berlin was in contact with Ukraine's government, opposition and other EU partners.

A Ukrainian parliamentary session Tuesday "will be an opportunity for the political leadership in Ukraine to show that it is serious about offers to the opposition," he said.

"Refraining from violence and making all efforts to find a political solution -- this in my view is the order of the day."