KIEV, Ukraine - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko signaled Friday that her standoff with President Viktor Yushchenko may lead to early presidential elections.
In an interview with foreign journalists, Tymoshenko said she hoped to revive the shattered pro-Western coalition with the president or form a new government with a Moscow-friendly opposition party. If that falls through, Tymoshenko said, early parliamentary elections should be held alongside a presidential vote.
"I believe that it would be logical to hold simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections, but that would be the worst scenario," Tymoshenko said.
Tymoshenko's statement was likely to further deepen the current political crisis. Yushchenko, whose popularity figures have fallen below 10 percent, is unlikely to welcome an early presidential election and is likely to question whether parliament has the authority to call an early presidential vote. His term expires in early 2010.
The coalition of the two leaders of the 2004 Orange Revolution fell apart earlier this month due to their bitter rivalry ahead of the 2010 presidential vote. The president and prime minister have also disagreed over how to react to Russia's war with Ukraine's ally Georgia last month.
Moscow bitterly opposes NATO bids by Ukraine and Georgia. Yushchenko, a strong NATO advocate, has fiercely condemned the Kremlin and sided with Georgia, while Tymoshenko was more cautious, calling for "balanced" relations with Ukraine's giant neighbor.
Yushchenko's party pulled out of the alliance in early September, after Tymoshenko's party sided with the opposition to adopt a law trimming his powers.
He also accused her of selling out to the Kremlin by failing to strongly condemn Russia's invasion of Georgia.
Tymoshenko denied those accusations, saying the current crisis was Yuschenko's own fault and part of his campaign to sideline her.
