Ukrainian Protests

Yushchenko was expected to address the Council in Strasbourg on the political situation in his country, but sent his Foreign Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk instead, officials said.

With protests now in their second week, some 3,000 supporters of pro-Russian Prime Minister Yanukovych rallied on Independence Square, many waving the blue-and-white flags of his Regions Party.

Up to 3,000 pro-Yushchenko activists demonstrated on Europe Square nearby.

Yushchenko issued an order on April 2 to dissolve parliament and hold early elections after accusing the ruling majority led by Yanukovych of abusing the constitution.

Yanukovych has defied the order and hundreds of his supporters have camped outside government buildings in Kiev for more than a week, with thousands more holding daily rallies in the capital.

Fighting for years

The two men have feuded since 2004, when the mass protests of the Orange Revolution brought pro-Western Yushchenko to power after a presidential election win initially handed to Yanukovych was declared fraudulent.

On Wednesday, Yanukovych held talks with former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski, who played a key role while still in power as an international mediator in resolving the Orange Revolution stand-off.

"The presidential decree is unconstitutional. That's not my president and his party is against the people," Georgy Yershov, a 70-year-old pensioner from Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine, said at the protest.

The constitutional court, which is made up of 18 judges, has been asked by Yanukovych to rule on the legality of the presidential decree and a decision is expected in weeks, experts said.

Elections slotted for May 27

On Tuesday, the court announced that it would not start examining the case until April 17. Meanwhile, five judges from the court, three of them Yushchenko appointees, said they were being put under undue political pressure.

Yushchenko has decreed early elections for May 27. The president has said he will not go back on his order, though he has conceded the date for the elections could change.

"Honest Court, Honest Elections," "East and West Together," "No to the Criminals in Power!" read the placards held by the pro-Yushchenko activists.

"We're here to support the president and his decision.... There is a lot of pressure against the judges. We want to say: do not be afraid, we are with you," said Nadya Kryvonos, a local deputy from Kremenchug in central Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a delegation of twenty Russian members of parliament is scheduled to arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday. The Moscow legislators are expected to meet Prime Minister Yanukovych.