Agence France-Presse - 09.17.2008

Agence France-Presse

Ukraine PM refuses to resign as crisis deepens

KIEV — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday refused to resign as a political crisis provoked by the Georgian conflict deepened following the collapse of the pro-Western ruling coalition.

Asked at a press conference whether she would resign as required under a coalition pact, Tymoshenko said the coalition had not formally collapsed despite an announcement in parliament and therefore she did not have to quit.

"We are not a flock of sheep who jump into the abyss just because one sheep has done so," she said, referring to a decision by President Viktor Yushchenko's party to leave the ruling coalition earlier this month.

"The coalition has not collapsed.... It's the president and part of his team betraying the democratic coalition who have left it unilaterally," Tymoshenko said after a meeting of the government that went ahead as scheduled.

Her comments came after parliament speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk, a Yushchenko ally, quit his post as required saying: "You have to come to power in a dignified way and you have to leave power in a dignified way too."

The speaker on Tuesday announced the collapse of the pro-Western coalition between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, who were once allies in the so-called Orange Revolution against a Moscow-backed presidential candidate, but they have fallen out.

Yushchenko has warned against Russian interference in the political crisis, which was provoked by discord over Russia's conflict with Georgia and charges that Tymoshenko committed "high treason" by not supporting Georgia enough.

Tymoshenko has rejected the charge, saying she is no Kremlin ally.

European officials have said Ukraine could be the next target for interference by Russia because of the high proportion of Russian-speakers in the country as well as the tensions over Russia's Black Sea fleet, based in southern Ukraine.

Reacting to the collapse of the coalition, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a close ally of Yushchenko in seeking to integrate with the West, said he was "worried" and pointed to "signs" of Russian interference.

Ukrainian newspapers meanwhile played down the prospects of a new coalition agreement, predicting early elections which would be the third parliamentary vote in Ukraine in two years of bitter political infighting.

"It seems there is no more chance for a reconciliation" between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, said the popular Gazeta po-Kievski daily.

Lawmakers from the pro-Russian opposition Regions Party and the Tymoshenko Bloc "have received the order to prepare as actively as possible for new elections," reported the business daily Ekonomicheskie Izvestia.

Under the same coalition agreement that requires Tymoshenko to resign, Yushchenko has the right but not the obligation to call early elections if no new coalition is created before mid-October.

The political crisis began when Yushchenko pulled his Our Ukraine party out of the coalition on September 3 after Tymoshenko sided with the pro-Moscow opposition to pass new laws rolling back the president's powers.

Yushchenko bitterly described the vote against him as a bid by Tymoshenko to establish a "dictatorship" and complained of a parliamentary "coup".

Tymoshenko in turn accused the president of having "destroyed" the governing coalition by pulling out of the alliance with her party.

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Agence France-Presse - 09.16.2008

Agence France-Presse

Ukraine's pro-Western ruling coalition collapses

KIEV — The governing coalition in Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday in a crisis brought on by Russia's war with Georgia that raises the prospect of the country being knocked off its pro-Western course.

"I officially announce the collapse of the coalition of democratic forces," parliament speaker Arseny Yatsenyuk told lawmakers.

"I would not call this an apocalypse. It is a challenge for democracy, but I hope we will overcome this challenge together," he said.

Less than four years after President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko united in the "Orange Revolution" against a Moscow-backed presidential candidate, their political marriage lies in tatters.

Tensions between the president and prime minister came to a head last month following Russia's war with Georgia, with Yushchenko's allies accusing Tymoshenko of "high treason" for not supporting Georgia enough.

Tymoshenko has rejected the charge, saying she is no Kremlin ally.

Meanwhile European officials have warned Ukraine could be the next target for interference by Russia because of the high proportion of Russian-speakers and tensions over Russia's Black Sea fleet, based in southern Ukraine.

The prime minister is now expected to resign and start trying to build a new coalition, possibly with the pro-Russian Regions Party, which is led by Orange Revolution loser and former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Tymoshenko is expected to continue functioning as prime minister until the formation of a new cabinet, which must happen within 30 days -- by mid-October. After that date, Yushchenko can call new elections.

The political crisis began when Yushchenko pulled his Our Ukraine party out of the coalition on September 3 after Tymoshenko sided with the pro-Moscow opposition to pass new laws trimming the president's powers.

Yushchenko bitterly described the vote against him as a bid by Tymoshenko to establish a "dictatorship" and complained of a parliamentary "coup."

Tymoshenko in turn accused the president of having "destroyed" the governing coalition by pulling out of the alliance with her party.

Fresh parliamentary elections would be the third such vote in two years for Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that faces huge economic and social problems and where the political scene has been riven with infighting for years.

Tymoshenko and Yushchenko were the icons of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution and have each been considered Western-leaning politicians despite persistent and sharp disagreements on domestic political issues.

The political crisis comes ahead of a key presidential election due in 2009 or 2010, which is expected to pit Yushchenko against both Tymoshenko and Yanukovych and will be closely watched in Western capitals.

Ukraine is a key transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe.

The crisis has set back Ukraine's NATO and EU aspirations as well as raising eyebrows in Washington. US officials badly want Tymoshenko and Yushchenko to work together to bring the ex-Soviet nation out of Russia's orbit.

US Vice President Dick Cheney urged unity during a visit to Kiev earlier this month as he toured the region trying to bolster America's ex-Soviet allies following Russia's war with Georgia.

That conflict and the ensuing fallout have served as a reminder that Russia finds it hard to stomach NATO or EU encroachment eastwards into what it sees as its historic sphere of influence.

People in the southeast of Ukraine are mainly Russian-speaking, while those in the northwest predominantly speak Ukrainian and are more oriented towards integration with the West.

Yushchenko last month earned Russia's wrath by imposing restrictions on the Russian navy. Under a long-term lease arrangement, Russia's Black Sea fleet is based at Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean coast until 2017.

Yushchenko was swept to power by the peaceful protests of the Orange Revolution, which forced a re-run of a presidential election that Yanukovych was widely accused of rigging.