KIEV, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's new prime minister will be appointed 29 days after the newly elected parliament convenes, the incumbent prime minister said Thursday.
Following consultations with party leaders, Yuriy Yekhanurov said he wanted Ukraine to have a democratic coalition, but said he was more concerned about forming the coalition than about appointing candidates to individual posts and refused to name a possible successor.
"I don't know [who it will be], I don't distribute posts," he said.
Under the Ukrainian Constitution, members of the Supreme Rada, or parliament, must form a coalition majority within 30 days of the new parliament starting work, and appoint a new government in the next 30 days.
Yekhanurov, number one candidate on the list of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc, which is currently third in the continuing vote count with 13.99%, held negotiations with leaders of the parties that have crossed the 3% threshold needed for representation in the Rada.
He said he was happy with the results of talks with Viktor Yanukovych of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, currently holding a clear lead (32.07%), Yulia Tymoshenko, whose eponymous bloc is in second (22.27%), and Alexander Moroz of the Socialist Party (5.69%), but refused to give any details.
"They are all thinking about Ukraine, but have different economic views and approaches to political slogans," Yekhanurov said. "It will some take some time before the political forces resolve these differences."
Yekhanurov met party leaders following instructions from President Viktor Yushchenko to launch coalition talks shortly after it became clear that the Party of Regions was gaining a convincing lead in the vote count.
Yekhanurov said he would also meet with Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party (3.66%), later in the day.
