Police dismantle Kiev protest camps

Cordons of riot police moved into central Kiev early on Monday afternoon in what appeared to be preparations by the Ukrainian government to regain control of Independence square and Kiev city hall, occupied by anti-government protesters for the past week.

The move comes after a week of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's decision not to sign an integration pact with the EU, culminating in the biggest protest since the 2004 Orange Revolution on Sunday, when hundreds of thousands of people flooded central Kiev. The protest ended with the city's statue of Lenin toppled by protesters and attacked with hammers.

Yanukovych released a statement on Monday saying he supported the idea of an "all-nation round table" to include the country's three former presidents to find a solution to the political crisis. "Such a round table could lead to more understanding," said a statement from the presidential press service.

The EU's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, will also arrive in Kiev on Tuesday. European commission president José Manuel Barroso said she would try to help defuse "the very tense solution that Ukraine is living today".

Meanwhile spokespeople for the opposition Fatherland Party said police were occupying its headquarters and "breaking down doors".

However, a police spokeswoman said neither the regular Kiev police nor Berkut riot police had conducted any operations at the address.

The websites for Fatherland and the opposition Freedom Party are currently inaccessible.

Fatherland is the party led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was jailed in 2011 over a controversial gas contract with Russia.

Protesters are demanding her release.

President Viktor Yanukovych has said he will discuss the crisis with three former presidents on Tuesday to try to find a compromise.

The protesters have given Yanukovych 48 hours to dismiss the government and are demanding new elections for the presidency and government.

They are blockading government buildings with cars, barricades and tents.

The demonstrators have condemned Yanukovych for refusing to sign an association agreement with the EU last month. He said he shelved it because it would put trade with Russia at risk.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will be in Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday "to support a way out of the political crisis".

Baroness Ashton will hold talks with government officials, opposition activists and civil society groups.

The Commission says the EU's offer of an association agreement with Ukraine remains on the table, provided Ukraine meets the conditions - and they cannot be renegotiated.

Sunday's demonstration was the biggest so far in nearly three weeks, and the biggest in Ukraine since the 2004 Orange Revolution, which swept pro-Western leaders to power.

During the evening, a group of protesters smashed the city's statue of the Russian revolutionary leader Lenin, and brought its dismembered parts as trophies to Independence Square.

Many of the protesters suspect Russia's President Vladimir Putin of trying to model a new Russian-led customs union on the Soviet Union. So far only Belarus and Kazakhstan have joined it.