Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met Tuesday with his
estranged Orange Revolution ally Yulia Tymoshenko amid pressure to
reunite their pro-Western team and keep the ex-Soviet country on
their reform path.
Yushchenko also held talks with pro-Russian opposition leader
Viktor Yanukovych, who won the most votes but not a majority in
weekend parliamentary elections.
Tymoshenko has said only a united front could keep Yanukovych
out of power and safeguard the reform ideals championed in the
"Orange Revolution." The Orange parties won more votes combined,
but it remains unclear whether they will be able to overcome deep
personal animosity and forge a coalition.
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Yanukovych's Party of the Regions expanded its lead Tuesday to just
over 30 percent of the vote, with more than 80 percent of ballots
counted. Trailing behind was Tymoshenko's party with a strong
showing of about 22.43 percent, significantly ahead of her one-time
partner Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party, which had just over 15
percent.
The Socialist Party, which backed the "Orange Revolution" and
serves in Yushchenko's government, was in fourth place with about 6
percent of the vote. No other parties had made it over the 3
percent barrier, early election results showed.
After the talks, Yanukovych told journalists that they did not
discuss a coalition, adding that his party would wait until there
was a final vote count. But he insisted that as the leader of the
race, his party should take responsibility for forming the
coalition.
Asked by journalists if he would demand that he return to the
prime minister's job which under new constitutional reforms will
now be chosen by parliament Yanukovych said his "party will
decide."
The one-on-one meetings, which Yushchenko's deputy spokeswoman
Larisa Mudrak said took about 45 minutes, were held in the
presidential administration building. Ukrainian television showed
footage of Yushchenko sitting opposite Tymoshenko at a big, round
table in what was their first meeting since the president sacked
her from the prime minister's job six months ago.
Yushchenko's meeting with Yanukovych also revived bitter
memories of the 2004 election, a hard-fought contest that deeply
divided this nation of 47 million.
Tymoshenko has publicly pushed for a reunited Orange Team,
calling this approach the only way to preserve the pro-Western
reform ideals that formed the basis of the 2004 election protest
triggered by Yanukovych's alleged ballot-stuffing attempt to win
the presidency.
She kept up the pressure on Yushchenko after the meeting,
telling journalists that she and the president "have a common
vision for Ukraine's future and for the future coalition."
Tymoshenko, who wants the prime minister's job back, predicted
that a coalition deal could be signed within a week, saying that
she was confident "that a democratic coalition will be born."
But Yushchenko's office put out a statement that called
Tuesday's consultations "preliminary," and emphasized the
importance of consolidating Ukrainian society.
Many analysts have suggested that Yushchenko might try to sell
the nation a union with Yanukovych as an effort to bridge deep
divisions. Yanukovych's party dominates in the Russian-speaking
east, while the Orange Team rules in the Ukrainian-speaking west
and center.
(China Daily March 29, 2006)
