Ukraine: rivals talk, troops deployed to Kiev

Ukraine: rivals talk, troops deployed to Kiev

After 24 hours of confusion over just who controlled more than 30,000 Interior Ministry troops, a top official said Yushchenko had ordered extra units into the capital in what he described as a routine operation. The troops' commander said he would obey only orders issued by the president.

Weeks of political turmoil boiled over on Friday when the head of state said he was taking control of the ministry troops, a move denounced by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich as dangerous and unconstitutional.

Yanukovich, the president's rival from the upheaval of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," arrived for the talks at Yushchenko's office more than two hours later than planned on Saturday.

A break was announced late in the afternoon, with the two leaders due to resume talks at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT).

Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, realigned with the pro-Western Yushchenko after a period of estrangement, was in the building, but it was unclear whether she was taking part.

Ivan Plyushch, head of the powerful National Security Council, had also been due to attend.

Several thousand supporters of the prime minister, closer to Moscow in outlook, massed outside. Streets were relaxed with many residents enjoying "Kiev Day" festivities in the sunshine.

Yushchenko issued two decrees last month dissolving parliament and calling an election which he wants held as soon as possible. The prime minister agreed to the poll after initial resistance but says it cannot reasonably be held before autumn.

Forces to Kiev

As the talks got under way, Plyushch announced the dispatch of new units in Kiev "to oversee the safety of state institutions, public order and the safety of residents."

His statement, issued by the president's office, described the deployment as "an established practice," similar to movements undertaken earlier this month. Interior Ministry officials estimated the deployment at just over 2,000 troops.

Oleksander Kikhtenko, commander of interior troops, said he was carrying out the president's latest decree.

"The president is commander-in-chief and I am subordinate to the president," he said outside Yushchenko's office. "Interior Ministry troops will not implement a single criminal order."

Interior Ministry troops are largely responsible for maintaining public order and not the army, which is controlled by one of Yushchenko's few allies in the cabinet.

The latest turmoil was sparked by Yushchenko's dismissal of prosecutor general Svyatoslav Piskun on Thursday.

The president denounced as a crime the interior minister's dispatch of riot police, who pushed into the building and let the prosecutor general back into his office.

Piskun said late on Friday a local court had annulled Yushchenko's decree and reinstated him. But a senior member of the president's staff said no documents had confirmed that.

Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko acknowledged ministry troops were not responding to his orders. He saw no need for the deployment.

"There is no need to bring in forces," he told a news conference. "The incident with the prosecutor is over and everything has calmed down."