Ukraine's two main pro-Western parties remained at an impasse in early April 2006, unable to close a deal on forming a coalition government following parliamentary elections that the pro-Russian Regions Party had won on 26 March.
President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine said it was prepared to reunite with estranged ally Yulia Tymoshenko, but on one condition: she had to abandon her bid to return as prime minister. Tymoshenko, who had split with Yushchenko after he dismissed her from the post the previous September, refused. The prime minister's office had gained significantly broader authority under constitutional changes that took effect in 2006, making control of it the central obstacle in negotiations between the two sides.
Tymoshenko had already dealt Yushchenko a public rebuke at the polls, with her bloc finishing second and pushing Our Ukraine into third place. The three pro-Western groupings, including the Socialists, were projected to hold 243 seats in the 450-seat parliament, against 207 for Regions and its probable allies.
Despite his widely reported misgivings about Tymoshenko's political reach, Yushchenko held the deciding hand in any coalition arrangement. The parties faced a 10 June deadline to form a majority government; if no deal materialized, the president could dissolve parliament and call fresh elections. Final certified results were expected by 10 April.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.