Ukraine's Yanukovych calls for new government to form quickly

Mar 4, 2010, 18:12 GMT

Kiev - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday called for the quick formation of a new cabinet, in the wake of a no confidence vote sacking the old government.

Factions in Ukraine's parliament, the Verhovna Rada, should 'work quickly' to identify candidates to head government ministries, because of a serious economic crisis in the country, Yanukovych said in Kiev.

Ukraine's legislature on Wednesday voted to throw out the government led by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who lost to Yanukovych in a February 7 presidential election run-off.

The legislature needs to finalise its list of new cabinet member nominees and submit them to him for approval, in a maximum 30 days, he said.

The Tymoshenko cabinet, in office from December 2007 through February 2010, 'caused damage on a scale of the Chilean earthquake,' Yanukovych said.

Ukraine's economy contracted by 15 per cent in 2009, according to official government statistics. Recovery is impossible without closer integration with Russia's economy, Yanukovych said in campaign speeches.

The pro-Russia Yanukovych was scheduled to travel to Moscow on Friday for talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

Yanukovych lost a 2004 presidential election after millions of people took to the streets to protest vote fraud in his favour, during Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution.

Tymoshenko was defeated by Yanukovych by a three per cent margin in the 2010 vote.