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Yanukovich tells Yulia to quit as premier

Posted on: Thu February 11, 2010

KIEV: Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich called on defeated rival Yulia Tymoshenko to resign as prime minister on Wednesday, turning up the pressure even as her camp contested the result of Sunday s presidential election.

Setting out his programme, Yanukovich said that while relations with Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union would be his priority, Ukraine needed help from West and East to stabilise its economy and restructure its debt.

With all votes counted in the Central Election Commission, Yanukovich ended with 48.95 percent to Tymoshenko s 45.47 per cent, a lead of 3.48 percentage points or some 888,000 votes.

Bond yields jumped sharply after Yanukovich s statement on debt, indicating a negative sentiment on Ukraine, as investors were concerned he meant to restructure sovereign Eurobonds.

Analysts said it was not likely he had called for are structuring of sovereign debt which would have amounted to default.

 I officially turn to the prime minister and call on her tore sign and cross to the opposition, Yanukovich, 59, said in his first policy statement since the election.

 The country does not need another political crisis. The nation has spoken for a change in power and the prime minister should take the right decision and enter opposition.

The charismatic Tymoshenko has not been seen publicly since election night on Sunday when she urged her regional representatives to check the vote-count carefully and fight fore very vote .

Her supporters have forced a recount of the vote in some regions to prove what they allege is cynical fraud by the Yanukovich camp. This is denied by the Yanukovich side. On Wednesday, Tymoshenko cancelled a weekly government meeting and travelled east to Zaporizhya to attend a funeral.

Some of her supporters have expressed doubts about the challenge she is mounting. Some say she would be better off going into opposition and fighting Yanukovich from there, and privately say they are not clear on what her strategy is. Few people, beyond a very tight inner circle, had spoken to her since Sunday night, they said.

One of her lawmakers, Svyatoslav Oliynyk, predicted she would step down and cross over to the opposition.

Courtesy :The News