KIEV, Feb. 18 - Western partners will be prepared to extend financial assistance to Ukraine only if a new democratic government is elected in the country, the leaders of Ukraine's opposition Batkivschyna and UDAR factions, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Vitali Klitschko, said after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"It is a highly important matter for Ukraine today. Our Western partners are ready to grant certain support to a new Ukrainian government. But when I speak about a new Ukrainian government, I do not mean the corrupt government that represents the interests of [President Viktor Yanukovych's] regime. Rather, I am speaking about a government that enjoys a certain level of trust, primarily among Western partners," Yatseniuk said at a press conference in Berlin on Monday, after being asked whether Ukraine's opposition leaders and Merkel had discussed the possibility of Ukraine receiving financial assistance from Germany and the European Union in general.