President Viktor Yushchenko accepted earlier Tuesday the resignation of Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, a key presidential ally who has actively promoted pro-Western policy goals during his time in office.
Ukraine's parliament, in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych leads a 246-strong majority coalition, voted in early December to sack Tarasyuk, at the pro-Russian premier's request.
Yanukovych said First Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko, 50, was nominated by the president.
"As a matter of fact, he [Ohryzko] has been acting foreign minister for about a month, and I assume that we should support the president's nomination," the prime minister said.
Yanukovych charged Ohryzko with preparing a meeting with the European trio (Germany, France and Britain) scheduled for February 6.
The power struggle between Yushchenko and Yanukovych, whom he defeated two years ago in presidential polls but was forced to appoint as premier last August, has intensified recently with parliament's sacking of president-appointed ministers.
On January 1, 2006, Ukraine shifted from a presidential-parliamentary to a parliamentary-presidential form of governance, after amendments adopted by the Supreme Rada in December 2004 came into force.
As a result, some presidential powers were transferred to the country's parliament and to the Cabinet.
