An anti-government protester, his face blackened by the smoke of burning tires, pauses as the crowd sings the Ukrainian national anthem on Jan. 24, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Police block the road near the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers building on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev. After two months of primarily peaceful anti-government protests in the city center, new laws meant to end the protests instead sparked violent clashes. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

An anti-government protester adds a tire to a fire during clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street near Dynamo stadium on January 25, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Women weep as a casket containing the body of Mikhail Zhiznevsky is carried past on Jan. 26, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Men carry a casket containing the body of Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, an anti-government protester who was killed in clashes with police, through the streets of downtown Kiev after a memorial service in his honor. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

A group of Ukrainian Orthodox women pray in front of a line of police officers near the Cabinet of Ministers building on Jan. 24, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Incendiary projectiles are prepared for use by anti-government protesters near Dynamo Stadium on Jan. 24, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

An anti-government protester uses a large sling shot during clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street near Dynamo stadium on Jan. 25, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Police officers block the street near the Cabinet of Ministers building on Jan. 24, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Anti-government protesters burn tires during clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street near Dynamo stadium in Kiev on Jan. 25, 2014. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Ukraine's prime minister has resigned and the country's parliament has scrapped draconian anti-protest laws, moves aimed at ending a two-month standoff with demonstrators.

The decision on the protests laws was made in a special parliamentary session in Kiev on Tuesday, shortly before the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, offered to stand down in a bid to ease tensions between protesters and the government.

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich accepted Azarov's resignation. Opposition leaders, who have called for the removal of the president, described the moves as "a step to victory.”

Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer, reporting from Kiev, said the prime minister was regarded as responsible for much of the violence during the crackdown on protesters.

"The prime minister was despised by the people on the streets. He was seen as responsible for the crackdowns," he said. "The opposition said this was a small step. A big step would be the resignation of the president."