Pro-Russian Leader Gets Nod From Ukrainian Reformer

Viktor Yushchenko emerged from talks in the early hours of Thursday morning to announce that the main obstacles had finally been overcome in negotiations that followed March's parliamentary elections.

"I have decided to put forward the candidacy of Viktor Yushchenko for the post of prime minister," Yushchenko told journalists.

Yushchenko said he realized submitting his former rival's name for nomination could cause a misunderstanding among members of the mass "orange revolution" protests, which were responsible for ousting Yanukovych two years ago.

"I ask people to understand that we have a unique chance about which we talked about on Independence Square, about which we dreamed every day -- to unite both sides of the Dniper (River) in understanding," Yushchenko said, referring to the Kiev square that was the center of the orange revolution mass protests and to the river that bisects Ukraine.

"We have a good chance to escape the political war and pass to political competition," Yushchenko added.

Other than accepting Yanukovych's candidacy, Yushchenko's only other viable option would have been to dissolve parliament and hope to win new elections while prolonging the crisis that has gripped Ukraine since March.

He said a pact agreed with Yanukovych's pro-Russian Regions party would be signed later Thursday and would ensure that the country kept to its current pro-Western course. A politician with close ties to the Kremlin and big business, Yanukovych shares few of revolution's reforming ideals.

An end to drawn out negotiations

Without going into the details, the Ukrainian president said part of the deal with his rival included written promises that Yanukovych would not try to turn around the country's attempts at market reforms or European integration.

"Concerning the principles determining Ukraine's domestic and foreign policy, its continuity, we have made a full stop today," Yushchenko said. "I am sure that there will be no more discussions."

Yanukovych's Regions party won the most seats at the elections, picking up support in the pro-Russian east of the country and opposing Yushchenko's plans for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but it failed to win an overall majority.

There were no immediate comments from Regions on how it planned to cooperate with Yushchenko nor details on the likely distribution of cabinet seats.

Tymoshenko's place still up in the air

Thursday's talks had extended beyond a constitutional deadline of 15 days for Yushchenko to decide either to approve Yanukovych's candidacy or dissolve parliament.

Yanukovych, a 56-year-old former electrician from Ukraine's industrial east, served as prime minister between 2002 and 2004 but was forced to back down from a presidential bid when hundreds of thousands of people staged peaceful protests against the election result.

In the recent negotiations Yushchenko's glamorous "orange revolution" ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, opposed a return to power by pro-Russian forces, saying it would be better to dissolve parliament than "betray" those who came onto the streets.

The idea of Ukrainian membership of the European Union and NATO has prompted consternation in Moscow, which has long considered Ukraine part of its sphere of influence.

Despite warnings that the crisis could deter much-needed investment, the economy has picked up recently. Gross domestic product grew by an average of five percent for the first six months of this year, according to the state statistics committee.