Answering journalists' questions on the chance of restoring the coalition between his supporters and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Yushchenko said the issue was trust in the prime minister, adding that Our Ukraine had "no desire to return to the coalition."
"In this situation, snap elections are the only constitutional way out," Yushchenko was quoted as saying by the presidential press service.
The previous coalition collapsed when the Tymoshenko Bloc sided with the opposition Party of Regions in voting to reduce the president's powers. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, leaders of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," have drifted apart over a host of issues, including Russia's war with Georgia in August. Both are expected to run for president in 2010.
Yushchenko said that he could see no group in parliament, except for her own bloc, that would support the prime minister.
"I am convinced that if the prime minister had behaved honestly as part of the coalition, and not conducted secret negotiations ... this coalition would be working for a long time yet," Yushchenko said.
After political groups failed to form a new government, the president on October 9 dissolved the legislature and called snap elections for December. According to recent opinion polls, 90% of Ukrainians are against holding early parliamentary elections.
The election was called off to allow the government to work to overcome the global financial crisis, and parliament voted on Friday to approve a set of laws aimed at stabilizing the financial system in order to meet the International Monetary Fund's conditions for a $16.5 billion standby loan.
Although the anti-crisis bill was passed with the support of the president's Our Ukraine group and the Tymoshenko Bloc, a senior Yushchenko aide said on Monday it had taken two weeks and did not mean the sides had been reunited.
"Approval of the anti-recessionary bill can in no way be considered a sign that the ability of the Supreme Rada [parliament] to work has been restored," said Andrey Kislinskiy, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential secretariat. "The reasons for the decree on dissolving parliament have not changed. The Ukrainian parliament requires urgent improvement."
