Three former Ukrainian presidents have urged the current government to listen to protesters camped out in Kyiv .

Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Victor Yushchenko all post-Soviet leaders, backed the right of Ukrainians to peacefully demonstrate and called for constructive dialogue between the two sides.

The message, posted on Yushchenko’s party website, stressed that “the European yearnings of the Ukrainian people” should be taken into account.

Their words come amidst continued street protests, sparked by a government decision to back-off a historic EU deal.