Under the pressure of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko, his opponents closed ranks even tighter. Servicemen of Berkut military unit stand near the entrance to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Photo: AFP
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Ukraine on the Brink of Coup
// President and Prime Minister got ready for war against each other
Everything was ready in Kiev on Friday for solving the conflict between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych by military force. The opponents mobilized all their resources for the struggle. The prime minister summoned a closed session of the Cabinet, which discussed the measures for establishing constitutional order in the country. The president made the Interior Ministry’s troops subordinate to himself, and included governors of all regions into the National Security Council. He now can dismiss the government and impose the state of emergency in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko spent the entire Friday on preparing to solve the political conflict with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych by force. The president signed a decree which made the interior troops insubordinate to the Interior Minister Vasily Tsushko, delegating the troops under the command of Interior Ministry’s General Alexander Kikhtenko, loyal to Yushchenko. The command of the interior troops promised to carry out any orders of the president as the Commander-in-Chief.
Yushchenko’s opponents, however, do not intend to surrender power without fighting. Viktor Yanukovych held a closed session of the Cabinet, discussing the measures for establishing “constitutional order in the country”. Yanukovych said the president’s last decisions violate the Constitution of Ukraine.
The outcome of the current confrontation will largely depend on the middle-level executives. Part of the Interior Ministry’s officers switched camps, taking the prime minister’s side. Besides, nearly 200 officers of the State Guards Department (UGO), subordinate to the president, said they do not want to serve under UGO’s new director Valery Geletei, and resigned.
Meanwhile, President Yushchenko apparently decided on Friday night to give a chance to his opponents to improve their behavior, and received Viktor Yanukovych and Alexander Moroz in his secretariat. Yulia Tymoshenko also took part in the closed talks of the conflicting parties.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 26, 2007
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