Ukraine parliament rejects government no-confidence motion

Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday rejected an opposition no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s government after the ruling party abstained from the vote.

The measure gathered 186 out of the required 226 votes in the Verkhovna Rada parliament with support from the three main opposition parties that sought Azarov’s resignation over Ukraine’s refusal to sign a historic EU trade and political pact.

The no-confidence vote failed after Azarov promised to reshuffle his government and apologised for a brutal police crackdown on weekend protests that drew Western condemnation and sparked even bigger rallies.

“I can guarantee lawmakers one thing – I will draw firm conclusions from what happened and make serious personnel changes in the government,” Azarov told an emergency parliament session.

“On behalf of our government, I would like to apologise for the actions of our law enforcement authorities on Maidan (Independence Square),” he added.