Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara has said that the escalation of the political situation in the country affects and reduces the effectiveness of Ukraine's talks with the European Union and Russia.

"Unfortunately, such a situation to some extent influences the effectiveness of our actions. We're currently holding very important negotiations with the EU and Russia, and their goals are known. As for the EU, we want to create the conditions necessary for the signing of an Association Agreement. As for Russia, we stated two main goals - to resume trade with Russia in full and to begin talks to change the price of Russian gas for Ukraine," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that the actions of the opposition, which uses mass protests in its own interests, "significantly weaken the actions of Ukraine and put our negotiating missions in a disadvantageous position."

"Of course, this also influences the effectiveness of work of our negotiators, and the Foreign Ministry feels this every day," he said.

He added that the Ukrainian president and the government had given clear instructions to law enforcement agencies not to use force against protesters and "these mass protests are being held as democratically as possible, given the role of the government and the protesters."

"And, perhaps, for the first time law enforcement agencies, which are virtually disarmed and cannot use special means, are actually opposing to a great number of people. This is a unique situation, because around the world law enforcement authorities should be ready to observe the statute and the law at any moment," he said.