Election Deal Ends Ukrainian Political Crisis

Ukraine's rival president and prime minister stepped back from the threat of violent confrontation yesterday by agreeing to hold parliamentary elections later this year, a compromise that seemingly ended months of political crisis.

After eight hours of talks at the weekend, President Viktor Yushchenko announced early yesterday that he had reached an agreement with the government led by the prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich. "A decision has been reached which is a compromise. We can now say that the political crisis in Ukraine is over," Mr Yushchenko said. It was "great news".

Mr Yanukovich said the agreement reflected a will on all sides to hold an honest and fair election. The crisis "shows we have learned certain lessons", he added.

The deal came after of days of escalating tension in Ukraine, which began last week when Mr Yushchenko sacked the country's chief prosecutor. Mr Yanukovich responded by sending interior ministry troops loyal to his governing coalition to surround the building.

On Friday, the pro-western president signed a decree taking control of 30,000 interior ministry troops. He ordered new units to be sent to the capital, Kiev. The troops were yesterday returning to their bases, local media reported.

This latest crisis began in April, when the president accused his rival of usurping power and ordered early elections. Under the new plan, elections will now be held on September 30. The parliament will this week need to approve laws to enable the snap poll to go ahead.

Recent opinion polls put the Regions party of Mr Yanukovich in the lead, but other data shows the rival parties each having about 40% support.