Yushchenko ends talks; aides call for blockades

By Alex Rodriguez
Chicago Tribune

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KIEV, Ukraine — Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko broke off talks yesterday with his rival in Ukraine's crisis over its presidency, and his aides said they would call on demonstrators to resume blockades of government buildings in an attempt to bring the government to a standstill.

Yushchenko's move was aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Ukrainian authorities and his government-backed opponent, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, after Yushchenko's team suffered new setbacks during a tumultuous day in Ukraine's parliament over the disputed Nov. 21 presidential runoff.

In a sign that Yushchenko had no intention of backing down from the standoff, the opposition leader rejected Yanukovych's offer yesterday to appoint him prime minister in a Yanukovych administration. He also ignored a proposal by Yanukovych that both men should step aside as candidates if a new election is held.

In parliament, lawmakers refused to support Yushchenko's bid to have Yanukovych removed from the prime minister's office because of his involvement in talks in eastern provinces about secession. A movement for autonomy in Yanukovych's home province of Donetsk and other eastern and southern provinces arose after it became clear that Yushchenko's call for a second presidential runoff had gained momentum.

Election officials declared Yanukovych the victor over Yushchenko, despite exit polls showing Yushchenko leading in last week's presidential runoff by a narrow margin. Yushchenko, international observers and Western governments say the election was tainted by widespread fraud.

The Ukrainian parliament then dealt a second blow to Yushchenko's team by voting to rescind its Saturday rejection of the election results. The weekend vote was a nonbinding move, but it heartened hundreds of thousands of demonstrators massed in the streets of Kiev since the election to protest Yanukovych's victory.

Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said parliament's action yesterday on Saturday's resolution was only preliminary. Nevertheless, after hearing that lawmakers had rescinded the resolution, scores of demonstrators outside parliament tried to storm the building, breaking through a police cordon.

Yushchenko and his allies in parliament rushed to the building's front entrance and persuaded demonstrators to return to the streets. Demonstrators outside parliament said they would not be deterred by the chamber's actions yesterday.

"I don't believe this will be a big setback," said Andre Simchuk, who along with his wife, Nadia, joined thousands of protesters outside parliament. "The victory will be ours."
 
Yushchenko's campaign manager, Oleksandr Zinchenko, accused Yanukovych of trying to stall by dragging out the talks. Those negotiations began over the weekend after European Union foreign-policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and other European envoys traveled to Kiev to try to broker a solution to the crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has faced intense criticism in Ukraine for backing Yanukovych despite the alleged election fraud, seemed to be softening his tone yesterday.

A Kremlin statement said Putin told German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that "an exit from the crisis should be found in a democratic way, that is, on the basis of observing the law and not under external or internal pressure based on political passions."

While some analysts were emphasizing Putin's concern about "external" pressures, German and U.S. officials said Putin's support for a democratic, legal outcome in the former Soviet republic was far more important and offered a significant opening for East and West to agree on a resolution.

"Russia is coming along," said a senior State Department official, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity.

Both candidates are eagerly awaiting the outcome of Ukrainian Supreme Court hearings into Yushchenko's appeal that the runoff election results should be invalidated because of evidence of fraud. The court heard evidence for a second day yesterday but did not reach a decision. It will resume hearings today.

Meanwhile, in Donetsk, Yanukovych's power base, governor Anatoly Bliznyuk said his administration would put off a referendum slated for Sunday asking voters to approve establishing the region as an autonomous republic.