Ukraine president accepts resignation of PM, entire cabinet: official

KIEV: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in a decree on Tuesday accepted the offer of resignation from Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire cabinet.

"I accept the resignation of Mykola Azarov and as a consequence the resignation of the entire Ukrainian government," read the text of the decree published on the presidency website.

He requested they stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is named.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his entire government resigned on Tuesday in a bid to defuse Ukraine´s deadly crisis, giving in to months of pressure as parliament scrapped anti-protest laws that had infuriated the opposition.

Azarov said he had taken a "personal decision" to resign to keep Ukraine together as a state, as parliament met in an emergency session to vote on reforms and amendments backed by President Viktor Yanukovych.

Parliament overwhelmingly voted to scrap anti-protest laws that sparked the current crisis when the ruling party pushed them through the Verkhovna Rada in a shambolic show-of-hands vote on January 16.

The dramatic twists in Ukraine´s two months of turmoil came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with EU chiefs at a summit in Brussels expected to be dominated by the turmoil.