U.S. Vice President Biden calls on Ukrainian leaders to pull back special police from Kyiv streets

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has called in a telephone conversation on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to pull back special police from the streets of Kyiv, the White House has said in a statement.

Biden expressed concern regarding the situation in Ukraine and called on President Yanukovych "to pull back government forces and to exercise maximum restraint,"

Biden stressed that the United States condemned violence by any side "but that the government bears special responsibility to de-escalate the situation."

"The vice president further underscored the urgency of immediate dialogue with opposition leaders to address protesters' legitimate grievances and to put forward serious proposals for political reform," the statement reads.