Czech foreign minister warns Kiev against clampdown

Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaoralek warned Ukrainian authorities that that would damage long term relations with the European Union if they seek to suppress protests using violence. Zaoralek issued the warning after a meeting with US deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland in Prague on Wednesday. The Czech foreign minister said that Kiev would need European support to try and pull the country out of its current economic crisis. Nuland was visiting Prague as part of a European tour. Prague authorities said Tuesday they wished to play no part in a planned state visit by Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, to the Czech Republic in April.