Ex-president Kuchma urges authorities, opposition to resume dialogue

It's within the power of the authorities and the opposition to prevent the civil conflict in Ukraine from growing into a civil war, second president of independent Ukraine Leonid Kuchma (1995-2005) said.

"What we're witnessing in Ukraine now looks like a nightmare. Being in charge of the country for more than a decade, having faced numerous protests, I couldn't have even imagined such a scenario, not for a single moment, and even more – I wouldn't have ever let it happen. Ukraine is rich in neither gas nor oil, yet public peace and national reconciliation have always been our main resource," ex-president Kuchma told Interfax-Ukraine in a statement.

However, "if a few weeks ago we were the only CIS country where there was no bloodshed in civil conflicts, the last few days have shown that we've crossed that red line," he said. "The farther the country goes beyond it, the harder it will be to go back," Kuchma said.

"I'm addressing both authorities and opposition: Ukraine's future depends solely on you. Whether the civil conflict grows into a civil war or not, whether the split that has divided different regions turns into an abyss that might break Ukraine for good depends only on your awareness of how deep the threats of the present moment are," Kuchma said.

"No one of really Ukrainian forces could be interested in what is happening now. Stop it! I urge all sides to immediately resume the dialogue, and I'm ready to do my best for this," he added.