You're reading: Yatseniuk proposes early parliamentary elections

Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the Ukrainian political party Front for Change and a member of the Ukrainian parliament, has congratulated Viktor Yanukovych on being elected president and called for early parliamentary elections.

"Unconstitutional attempts by parliamentarians to form a coalition and a government would deepen the political crisis and the crisis of statehood as such," Yatseniuk, who also ran in the recent presidential elections, said in an open letter to Yanukovych posted on his official Web site.

Yatseniuk said he was confident that Yanukovych, as "a guarantor of the Constitution, will not allow its violation."

Only early parliamentary elections can open the path toward economic stabilization and growth, Yatseniuk said. He proposed that a provisional coalition be set up for 60 days before early elections.

"This decision envisions the formation of a transitional government, whose composition you will determine personally. A faction to which I belong should support this decision but should not assume responsibility for the transitional government’s actions and should not be part of it," Yatseniuk said in his letter to Yanukovych.

The Ukrainian language’s status as the only official language in Ukraine must not be a subject of political debates, Yatseniuk said. "The presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine is also clearly regulated by the Ukrainian Constitution and a relevant agreement. The amendment of the terms and conditions of the Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Ukraine is possible only through a referendum, as well as a decision on Ukraine’s membership of NATO and other military alliances," he said.

"Ukraine does not need a gas transportation consortium; we can manage our pipeline on our own," Yatseniuk said. "What Ukraine needs is a common energy company with European Union countries and the Russian Federation. This would provide [Ukraine] with access to Russian energy resources, guarantee gas transit across Ukraine, and provide the opportunity to sell it together to European partners," he said.