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KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko told Ukraine's prime minister today his decision to dissolve parliament was final and warned his long-time rival against resorting to force.
The pro-Western Yushchenko has been at odds with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich since reluctantly appointing his Moscow-friendly rival last August, nearly two years after being swept to power by the "Orange Revolution" protests.
The prime minister had dismissed the decree calling an election for May 27 as a "fatal error" and challenged it in court. He told supporters a solution was possible only through talks.
"The main issue discussed at the meeting was to ensure strict implementation of the decree on an early election," the president's press service said at the outset of five hours of talks between the rivals.
"Viktor Yushchenko, as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, also stressed he would allow no use of force in the country."
The tough stance on the decree initially adopted by both sides has raised political tensions 2-1/2 years after Yushchenko defeated Yanukovich in the aftermath of the "orange" protests, which forced out a political establishment in power for years.
But there was no visible sign of tension in central Kiev. The hryvnia currency was stable although Ukraine's sovereign dollar bonds sold off on the news.
The president, quoted by Interfax Ukraine news agency, later drove his point home in talks with regional officials.
"The dissolution of parliament is in accordance with the constitution," he said. It is legitimate and grounded in law."
The prime minister had no immediate comment after the talks.
Liberal hopes
Yushchenko's victory over Yanukovich in the re-run of the rigged 2004 election prompted hopes among liberals that Ukraine could move out of Russia's shadow and closer to the West.
But liberals became disillusioned by debilitating rows in government ranks and what they saw as the indecision that led to Yushchenko's appointment of his rival last year when "orange" groups were unable to form a government.
Yushchenko's personal rating has sunk to single figures.
The president said he signed his decree to "preserve the state" after accusing the prime minister of illegally expanding his majority in parliament by poaching Yushchenko's allies.
Just outside parliament, about 2,000 of Yanukovich's backers set up a tent camp festooned with banners, a much smaller version of the 2004 gatherings.
"The solution can be found only at the negotiating table, through compromise, not by violating the constitution," Yanukovich told supporters.
Small groups took flags into Independence Square, focal point of the upheavals in 2004, and pitched tents there. But the square emptied quickly as night fell.
In parliament, where Yanukovich is backed by a three-party coalition, 53 members asked the Constitutional Court to strike down the decree.
Even if all sides agree to take part in the snap election, it could produce more of the stalemate that has afflicted Ukraine since its last parliamentary poll just over a year ago.
Polls show Yanukovich's Regions Party in the lead, with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc in second place.
Russia, Ukraine's colonial master for 300 years, offered its help. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a solution "via a dialogue of all political forces in the country".
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Union Commissioner for External Relations, said the row exposed a vibrant democracy but added that after months of rising tensions "it is of the highest importance that political stability be re-established".
- REUTERS
