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Talks On New Ukrainian Government End For Night Without Deal


Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (center) attends a ceremony with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (left) and parliament speaker Volodymyr Hroysman in January.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (center) attends a ceremony with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (left) and parliament speaker Volodymyr Hroysman in January.

Coalition talks in Ukraine aimed at creating a government have run into difficulties.

The two main parties at the talks in Kyiv were unable on April 11 to come to an agreement with the candidate nominated to be the next prime minister -- current parliament speaker Volodymyr Hroysman.

Oleksiy Honcharenko, deputy leader of the parliamentary Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, said an agreement could not be reached with Hroysman about the structure or personnel in the next government.

Mustafa Nayem, a lawmaker in the bloc, confirmed in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda late on April 11 that Hroysman had so far refused to accept the post of prime minister.

Nayem said that talks between the pro-presidential bloc and outgoing Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's party ended late on April 11 with Hroysman refusing to accept the prime minister's post -- so far -- because his conditions had not been met.

However, Nayem said coalition talks were scheduled to continue in Kyiv on the morning of April 12.

Hroysman was nominated by the Petro Poroshenko Bloc as a replacement for Yatsenyuk, who came to power in 2014.

With his approval rating sinking over a corruption scandal and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine against Russia-backed separatists, Yatsenyuk announced on April 10 after weeks of pressure that he would submit his resignation to parliament on April 12.

Yatsenyuk also has said his party would remain part of a revamped ruling coalition, alongside the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.

That announcement was thought to have cleared the way for Hroysman, a close ally of the president, to lead a reshaped government that tries to bring the country out of its worst political crisis in two years.

Poroshenko said in an interview that he had received assurances during a recent visit to Washington that agreeing on a new cabinet would be enough to restart billions of dollars of international aid.

With reporting by AP, Bloomberg, TASS, Interfax, and Ukrayinska Pravda
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