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Ukraine Parliament Breaks Deadlock


Viktor Yanukovych (file photo) (RFE/RL) July 6, 2006 -- Ukraine's parliament, which had been blocked for days by an opposition party, resumed meeting today.


Work resumed after Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of the opposition Party of Regions said an agreement had been reached with the new governing coalition on most of its demands.


"Today, at this time, we are unblocking the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the Verkhovna Rada will begin its plenary session. Period," Yanukovich told lawmakers to applause.


The pro-Russian Party of Regions began blocking parliament early last week to demand a greater share of key parliamentary positions. The blockade has further delayed attempts by the three parties who were behind Ukraine's 2004 Orange revolution to form a government.


Later today, lawmakers are expected to vote on the coalition's nomination for speaker. Initially, the coalition wanted to hold the votes on a new speaker and a new prime minister in a single ballot, but the Party of Regions rejected the proposal.


(UNIAN, Reuters)

The Key Players

The Key Players

BEHIND THE IMAGES: Click on the links below to read RFE/RL's profiles of some of the key players in Ukraine's March 26 legislative elections:


Click on the image for background and archived articles about Ukraine's March 26 elections.


Click on the image to see RFE/RL's coverage of the Ukrainian elections in Ukrainian.

Click on the image to view a photo gallery of some of the key players in the Ukrainian elections.

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