Tymoshenko Won't Back Yushchenko In Ukrainian Elections
Sacked Premier Yuliya Tymoshenko (file photo)
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9 September 2005 -- Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said today she would not back the camp of President Viktor Yushchenko in parliament elections next March.
Tymoshenko, speaking on Ukraine's Inter Plus television, said she and Yushchenko, who fired her and her cabinet yesterday, will go to the elections in "parallel ways."
She said there will be "two different teams, with absolutely different people." Tymoshenko said the circle around the president interfered continuously with her cabinet's work.
"The whole history of my work in the government was a history of two governments working side by side, where ministers received their orders from four or sometimes even five sources," she said.
Tymoshenko specifically accused National Security and Defense Council head Petro Poroshenko of sabotaging her efforts in the government. She also blamed those around Yushchenko for the firing of her government.
Earlier today, Yushchenko appealed to leaders of all parliamentary factions to support the country's acting prime minister, Yuriy Yekhanurov, in efforts to form a new cabinet.
Lawmakers were expected to vote on Yekhanurov's nomination in the next two weeks.
(Reuters/AP/AFP)