Ashton to hold talks with Turchynov, Tymoshenko in Kiev

Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will travel to Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday, February 24, for talks with interim president Oleksandr Turchinov and Batkivshchyna party leader Yulia Timoshenko.

In Kiev Ashton will “meet key stakeholders and discuss the support of the European Union for a lasting solution to the political crisis and measures to stabilize the economic situation.”

European Commission spokesperson Olivier Bailly said no final list of people had been drawn up yet as the situation in Ukraine was volatile, but Ashton was planning to meet with Turchynov, Udar Party leader Vitali Klitschko, head of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party’s faction in the national parliament Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Svoboda (Freedom) Party leader Oleh Tyahnybok, and YuliaTymoshenko.

Ashton will discuss financial assistance to Ukraine. She will also lay a wreath in memory of the victims of last week’s violence in Kiev.