Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Party of Regions leader Victor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Ukraine's main opposition party is in coalition talks with its bitter rival, a lawmaker said Tuesday, a move that could isolate President Viktor Yushchenko ahead of the country's presidential elections.

The Party of Regions, led by former president Viktor Yanukovych, was talking about creating "a grand coalition" with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's party, even though those two leaders have sniped at each other for years.

It was the latest chapter in the long-running, three-way power struggle between Yanukovych, Tymoshenko and Yushchenko. That battle has intensified in recent months amid Ukraine's worst economic crisis in more than a decade and the pressure of a presidential election that must be held by January.

Dmytro Tabachnyk, a lawmaker with the Party of Regions, confirmed Tuesday that a coalition was being discussed and also urged that direct presidential elections be abolished and Ukraine's leader be elected by a parliamentary vote.

"A grand coalition capable of changing the constitution would be a coalition of victory over the crisis," Tabachnyk told a parliament session. "The Germans never elected their president in postwar Germany and the Belgians have not been electing their king for 200 years."

But experts warn that doing away with genuinely competitive presidential elections would undermine Ukraine's democratic credentials and its push to integrate with the West.

In a statement Tuesday, Yushchenko called such reforms an "anti-constitutional plot" and said any changes to the constitution should only be done through a referendum.

Under the power-sharing plan reported by Ukrainian media, Tymoshenko would remain prime minister and run the country's day-to-day operations, while Yanukovych would be elected president by the two biggest parties in parliament.

The deal would likely damage the two politicians' credibility with voters, since they have spent the last few years sparring continuously.

Yushchenko defeated Yanukovych, a former prime minister, in the fraud-marred 2004 vote that sparked the mass pro-democracy protests called the Orange Revolution. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, who jointly led the Orange Revolution, teamed up against Yanukovych, but the two allies quickly turned into bitter foes.

Both Tymoshenko and Yanukovych are afraid of losing the upcoming presidential elections, prompting analysts to speculate they were mulling plans to gain power by bypassing that vote.

Yushchenko has vowed to run for a second term, despite his political isolation and widespread voter anger that has sent his approval ratings down to around 3 percent.