Ukraine sees a new wave of coalitions in parliament

6 Oct, 2006 07:14 / Updated 15 years ago

The pro-presidential “Our Ukraine” party intends to form a confederation of opposition forces. Roman Bessmertny, the leader of the coalition's parliamentary faction says the “Our Ukraine” party plans to build a Euro

It will unite political forces and coordinate its activities in opposition. The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, says contrary to reports, negotiations on building the coalition are still underway. There's still no word on talks with Yulia Timoshenko's bloc on a possible alliance. The president and his prime minister clashed last month after Yanukovich told NATO officials that Ukraine wasn't ready for membership because of a lack of public support. The country has not been invited to the NATO summit in Riga. Leonid Gusev, an expert on Ukraine at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, comments on how the situation in Ukraine may affect Viktor Yanukovich's government: “I think everything can happen in Ukraine. As we know, the situation in Ukraine can change very quickly. Some ministers can resign. But if in Ukraine's parliament, theRada, the current coalition between the Party of the Regions, the Communist, and Socialist Party continues to exist, Yanukovich will continue to be a prime minister because this coalition has the majority. This is according to the Ukraine’s constitution.”