AKIPRESS.COM - Interpol is studying a request by Ukrainian authorities to arrest President Viktor Yanukovych for abuse of power and murder. The request is being assessed to see if it is in line with Interpol's constitution and rules, Seattlepi reported.

Yanukovych fled to Russia after the unrest in Ukraine in which more than 80 people were killed in Kiev, but insists he remains President. The newly installed government in Kiev blames the protest deaths on Yanukovych.

Interpol said its legal department is trying to ensure that the request is in conformity with a series of rules it must abide by.

Still, the right to arrest remains squarely in the hands of national authorities where the person being sought is located. If Yanukovych remains in Russia, then it would be up to Russia to arrest him. No member country is obliged to make the arrest.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the ouster of Yanukovych as an “unconstitutional coup and armed seizure of power.”