BERLIN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister urged the Ukrainian government on Tuesday to avoid a return to violence, as riot police advanced on Kiev's Independent Square following a day of violent clashes with opponents to President Viktor Yanukovich.
"I urge the opposing groups in Ukraine to return urgently to the path of recent days and talk about a political solution," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara by telephone, Steinmeier's office said in a statement.
"A return to violence in Ukraine is certainly no way to reach a settlement and ensure a good future for the country," the German minister told Kozhara. (Reporting by Stephen Brown)
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