KIEV, February 12 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is ready to appoint a coalition government that includes members of the opposition, the speaker of parliament said Wednesday.
“The President of Ukraine agrees to a coalition government. There’s still a possibility,” Speaker Volodymyr Rybak said.
A leader of the opposition Fatherland party, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has previously rejected an offer to become prime minister in a coalition government, saying that he would only agree to head an opposition-dominated cabinet.
The ruling pro-presidential Party of Regions has rejected that demand.
Opposition protestors took to the streets in Ukraine in November after Yanukovych decided against signing a landmark association agreement with the European Union, and chose instead closer trade ties with Russia.
The movement has since transformed into a loose coalition of opposition groups seeking Yanukovych’s ouster.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Mykola Azarov, resigned on January 28, prompting the dissolution of his cabinet of ministers. His departure came on the day Ukraine’s parliament repealed strict new laws against public protest that had triggered days of violent clashes between police and demonstrators.
