Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko vows to help re-establish the governing coalition to avoid early parliamentary elections. Tymoshenko told parliament on Wednesday that she would accept any conditions posed by President Viktor Yushchenko's party to salvage the collapsed coalition. "We will close our eyes and accept any ultimatums in order to preserve Ukraine's strategic orientation, to preserve the parliament and not to throw the country into a new crisis," Tymoshenko said.
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Ukraine's pro-western ruling coalition between the president's Our Ukraine party and the prime minister's Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc collapsed in September. The collapse came after Yushchenko's party pulled out of the coalition in protest at Tymoshenko's decision to back a bid introduced by the opposition to trim presidential powers, which would raise the prospect of impeaching the president.
Under the constitution, in such cases the president can call for snap elections or parliament will create a new coalition in 30 days.
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko have been allies since the 2004 Orange Revolution, which overturned the rigged election of Viktor Yanukovych as president. Yushchenko gained power after promising to establish closer relations with the European Union and the United States. Tymoshenko's decision to re-establish the pro-West coalition came amid fears that the pro-Russian opposition would win the new elections.