Ukraine's parliament has voted in favour of repealing a set of anti-protest laws which had triggered violent unrest in Kiev.

In a concession to the opposition aimed at calming down unrest on the streets, a large majority of deputies voted in favour of revoking the Jan. 16 legislation.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov offered his resignation to President Viktor Yanukovich, saying he hoped his departure would help towards a peaceful settlement to two months of unrest which has convulsed the former Soviet republic.

Azarov, a loyal lieutenant of Yanukovich since the latter was elected to power in February 2010, said he was offering to step down "with the aim of creating extra means for finding a social-political compromise, for the sake of a peaceful settlement of the conflict."

But in reality he has been publicly humiliated by Yanukovich's offer at the weekend to give his job to former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition leaders, in an effort to stem the rising protests against his rule.

The opposition has been calling consistently for the resignation of the Azarov government since the onset of the crisis. But opposition leaders have shied away from the offer of top government posts by Yanukovich, seeing it as a trap intended to compromise them in front of their supporters on the streets.