Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk pushes for support

A top Ukrainian opposition leader said Friday that his country needs more than “vocal support” from the West and that he would push at a security conference for more active involvement to help resolve the current political crisis.

“Ukraine desperately needs a Marshall plan and not martial law in order to stabilise the political and economic situation in the country,” lawmaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters as he arrived at the Munich Security Conference.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to meet with Yatsenyuk and other Ukrainian opposition leaders Saturday at the conference, which is in its 50th year and is renowned as a venue for backroom diplomacy and negotiations.

Ukraine’s foreign minister was also to attend the Friday-Sunday conference along with many of the world’s top diplomats and defense officials. It was unclear whether he would meet with Kerry as well.

Before arriving in Munich, Kerry said in Berlin that offers from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had “not yet reached an adequate level of reform.”

Kerry, who met Friday night in Munich with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov behind closed doors, said ahead of time he would also seek to persuade Moscow that an agreement in Ukraine is in its interest.