Yanukovych says president must set out stance on Ukraine impasse
11/07/2006 16:33 KIEV, July 11 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Party of Regions urged President Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday to make clear his position on the ongoing standoff in parliament over a coalition government.
The pro-Russia party was officially declared part of a new parliamentary coalition Tuesday, which sparked ugly scenes in the 450-seat legislature, and leader Viktor Yanukovych's name was put forward as a candidate for prime minister.
Yanukovych, who lost to Yushchenko in the controversial 2004 presidential elections, said: "If we hear the head of state's position, we will understand what is happening. Either this is a preplanned scenario and the president will not tolerate any political force but his own or we will see that the current confrontation in parliament can still be overcome."
The Party of Regions formed the new coalition last week with the Socialist Party and the Communists. Yushchenko's Our Ukraine refused to join the alliance, which replaced one set up by the pro-presidential party with the Socialists and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in June. That union collapsed following the Socialist Party leader's controversial election as speaker instead of an Our Ukraine member.
The new coalition leader said his party had announced it was willing to join a broad coalition, which some members of his parliamentary faction suggested could involve Our Ukraine members.
"It is not our fault that this proposal was rejected," said Yanukovych, who was prime minister under President Leonid Kuchma in 2002-2004.
But he also said that the party still harbored hopes on this score, which was why it was important that the president should make his views known.
If Ukraine's parliament fails to form a coalition government within 60 days after its first session, the president will have to dissolve it and call an early election. The current assembly, elected in March, held its first session on May 25.
