Ukraine premier’s backers rally near presidential office

KIEV, UKRAINE —  Thousands of supporters of Ukraine’s Russian-leaning prime minister marched to the gates of the pro-Western president’s office Wednesday, vowing not to back down in a standoff between the two leaders.

Dozens of supporters of President Viktor Yushchenko tried to stop the more than 7,000 backers of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich from getting closer to the presidential office. Police in riot gear separated the sides.

The dispute between the two leaders is the most serious political crisis since the 2004 Orange Revolution protests that propelled Yushchenko to the presidency over Yanukovich.

This time, though, the prime minister’s partisans have seized the initiative on the streets -- setting up a tent camp, erecting a stage on the capital’s main square and rallying outside the president’s office.

The defiant Yanukovich vowed that, before the Constitutional Court rules on the issue, he would not even consider Yushchenko’s order dissolving parliament, which has become increasingly aligned with the prime minister, and replacing it in a May 27 election.

Ivan Avramov, a spokesman for the court, said it had 15 days to decide whether to accept the case, after which a six-judge panel would make a final decision on whether to take the case. That panel faces no time limit.

The U.S. and Russia have appealed for calm in this nation of 47 million, which is caught between historic ties to Russia and aspirations of moving closer to Europe. Yushchenko and Yanukovich have spent the last two days meeting separately with foreign ambassadors in a bid for support.

The dispute arose after 11 lawmakers joined Yanukovich’s ruling coalition last month, moving it closer to a two-thirds majority in the 450-seat parliament that would be veto-proof and could allow his allies to change the constitution.

Yushchenko called the defections “a revision of the voters’ will” and illegal, saying the law permits only blocs, not individual lawmakers, to switch sides. His order Monday night dissolving the legislature and calling new elections sparked the crisis.

The president’s backers have kept a comparatively low profile, apparently to avoid the possibility of clashes but perhaps also reflecting widespread disappointment in Yushchenko’s failure to bring massive reforms in the former Soviet state.

The two politicians differ over whether Ukraine should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or more closely tie its fate to Russia. But much of their recent wrangling has been widely viewed as efforts by their financial backers and behind-the-scene power brokers seeking to protect business interests.