Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych planned to meet on Tuesday with the main candidates for the post of prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Sergei Tigipko, presidential deputy chief of staff Anna German said.

Yanukovych has already named Yatsenyuk, the leader of the Front of Changes party, and businessman Tigipko, as possible candidates for the premier's position. Another candidate he named was Mykola Azarov from his Party of Regions.

Yatsenyuk has sent an open letter to the Ukrainian president in which he proposed forming a provisional coalition for possible early parliamentary elections.

"The president responded to the letter from Yatsenyuk and has invited him to meet and discuss the content of this letter," the Ukrainian UNIAN news agency quoted German as saying.

According German, Yanukovych has decided to invite Tigipko to discuss ways of joining efforts by Ukrainian politicians to cope with the economic crisis and to stabilize the political situation in the country.

Yanukovych narrowly defeated his pro-Western rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, in the February presidential elections and replaced Viktor Yushchenko as president on February 25.

On March 2, the majority coalition of Tymoshenko's and Yushchenko's parties, as well as the bloc of parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, was dismissed. Parliament also passed a vote of no confidence dissolving Tymoshenko's government.

If a new coalition is not formed before April 1, the president will have the right to dissolve parliament and force early parliamentary elections.

KIEV, March 9 (RIA Novosti)