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Two views: Ukraine's potential PMs set out their priorities

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The leaders of Ukraine's two main opposing forces in parliament set out their priorities on the post in interviews with Russian newspapers Thursday.
MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - The leaders of Ukraine's two main opposing forces in parliament set out their priorities on the post in interviews with Russian newspapers Thursday.

Ukraine is in a state of political turmoil with fighting in the legislature and protestors on the streets. The collapse of one parliamentary coalition led by one former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, prompted the emergence of another led by her predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych.

Tymoshenko, the 45-year-old leader of her eponymous Western-looking bloc in the Supreme Rada, told respected daily Izvestia that the country's new prime minister must ensure the country's "energy independence."

The heroine of the 2004 "orange revolution" said the premier should in the first instance visit Turkmenistan and Iran, where "Ukraine's energy independence lies," apparently referring to Ukraine's attempts to diversify its natural gas imports following a bitter pricing row with Russia, which briefly cut off supplies in January.

Under an agreement the two countries signed in early 2006, Ukraine imports a mixture of Russian and Turkmen gas at $95 per 1,000 cubic meters. The price formula is based on a rate of $230 for Russian gas and $60 for the Central Asian republic's gas.

But the Central Asian republic said in late June that it would raise the price to $100 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Tymoshenko, who helped Viktor Yushchenko win presidency in late 2004 defeating a Kremlin-backed candidate who is now in the running to become prime minister, said: "I want strong and strategic relations between Ukraine and Russia. But Moscow has to understand that Kiev elects presidents and appoints prime ministers itself, and that honest Russian business will enjoy most favorable conditions in Ukraine."

But Yanukovych, who heads the Party of Regions representing industrial eastern areas with predominantly Russian-speaking population, on the contrary said Ukraine, whose domestic gas production only covers 25% of demand, should focus on improving relations with Russia.

"Ukraine has to learn to talk with Russia," Yanukovych told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily. "This will help efforts to resolve the gas problem. We should live in peace with our neighbor and strategic partner. Arguments with Russia trigger trade and economic crises affecting Ukraine's industry."

The 56-year-old former regional governor said Ukraine's deficit in trade with Russia exceeded $2 billion.

Yanukovych also said that Ukraine's economic growth, Europe's fastest in 2003-2004, had slowed down 80% since then. He said steel output, the country's major export commodity, was declining due to growing energy prices. Prices for energy can make metallurgy and the chemical industry unprofitable, he said.

If appointed prime minister, a post he held in 2002-2004 under President Leonid Kuchma, Yanukovych said he would drop plans to join NATO, which is something Yushchenko has proactively sought since coming to power.

"... The majority of Ukrainians want personal prosperity and abhor the idea of rapprochement with the alliance. People need stability, not NATO," he said, reflecting prevailing sentiments in the country.

Yanukovych said the new prime minister would have greater opportunities.

"Today, the head of government can rely on the parliamentary majority, which means the executive and legislative branches will not engage in disputes with each other," he said.

Yanukovych has been nominated for prime minister by his party - the largest in the Rada - the Communist and the Socialist parties, which set up an "anti-crisis" coalition replacing an "orange" coalition, which collapsed when the Socialists defected from the alliance of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine and Tymoshenko's bloc to the pro-Russia forces.

But the destiny of Yanukovych's coalition and his chances of returning to the premier's chair remain unclear as the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine have protested the legitimacy of the new coalition and are demanding new elections.

Tymoshenko also told Izvestia that Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz's election as speaker was illegitimate. She said their former ally should have notified the "orange" coalition of his plans to withdraw 10 days in advance.

The former premier, who served under Yushchenko for eight months before being fired amid a corruption scandal, also ruled out forming a grand coalition with the largely pro-Russian Party of Regions.

"None of our faction will do so. I do not regard the Party of Regions as a party. It is an influential clan that seeks power," she said.

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