KIEV, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Yulia Tymoshenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister, said Thursday her eponymous election bloc would not cooperate with the pro-Russian Party of Regions.
"No mixture of political blood is possible," Tymoshenko said, adding that there was no context for cooperation with the party led by long-time rival Viktor Yanukovych, who lost to Viktor Yushchenko in a re-run of the second round of presidential elections in late December 2004.
"We view the Party of Regions as an opposition party," said Tymoshenko, whose government was dismissed in September 2005 after a bitter clash that saw ministers and several members of the president's inner circle trade allegations of corruption.
The former premier said representatives of Yanukovych's party could chair a number of committees in the new parliament or the Audit Chamber.
Ukraine's parliamentary elections saw the Party of Regions come out on top but without enough seats to form a majority in the 450-seat Supreme Rada, or parliament. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, the Rada must form a coalition majority within 30 days of the new parliament starting work, and appoint a new government in the next 30 days.
Speculation has been rife on possible majority coalitions in the new parliament, with some analysts predicting an "orange" coalition comprising the groups that backed President Yushchenko when he came to power in late 2004 following the disputed vote, and others suggesting a "grand coalition" involving pro-presidential groups and the Party of Regions.
Pro-presidential bloc Our Ukraine said earlier it had signed a protocol on forming a parliamentary coalition with Tymoshenko's bloc and the Socialist party.
