UKRAINE: Ukraine's opposition last night issued the Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Yanukovich, with a blunt demand to dissolve his government, clearing the way for a re-run presidential election, or face the consequences.
The move came hours after protesters, frustrated by the refusal of MPs to consider an opposition no-confidence motion, stormed the gates of the parliament buildings for a short time but were then persuaded to pull back.
After two days of foot-dragging by MPs in parliament and judges in the Supreme Court over demands for last week's elections to be declared invalid, the opposition leader, Mr Viktor Yushchenko, said he was breaking off further talks and made his demand for the government to fall.
With the US, the EU, Russia and even the outgoing Ukrainian president, Mr Leonid Kuchma, all backing fresh elections, MPs had been expected yesterday to vote the government out of office, clearing the way for a new poll. However government MPs dragged their feet all day, refusing to vote on a no-confidence motion.
Meanwhile across the city, Supreme Court judges again delayed ruling on complaints that the November 21st elections were fraudulent.
An increasingly isolated Mr Yanukovich agreed to back fresh elections, providing Mr Yushchenko agreed not to stand. He also repeated his offer to make Mr Yushchenko prime minister if he himself took the presidency - an offer his rival has previously snubbed. When these moves failed, government MPs voted to dissolve the session. Hours later, an increasingly confident opposition leader broke off talks with aides of Mr Yanukovich, issuing a take-it-or-leave-it list of demands.
Mr Yushchenko's demand for the government to dissolve was part of a four-part ultimatum delivered last night, which also included a call for the prosecutor general to be sacked, the Central Election Commission to be dismissed and the formation of a new administration dedicated to "People's Truth".
"Our leader decided that we are stopping negotiations with Yanukovich," Mr Yushchenko's spokeswoman, Ms Tanja Mokrid, told The Irish Times. "We are waiting for the decision of parliament."
It is a sign of the chaos that the opposition initially demanded that MPs return to the chamber to agree their demands in an all-night session, only to find that most had gone home.
Much of today's proceedings are likely to depend on whether the EU's foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, can command a united front from the EU, Washington and Moscow and whether Mr Yanukovich bows to opposition pressure and resigns.
Russia appears to have dropped its objection to fresh elections, but yesterday the speaker of the Russian parliament, Mr Boris Gryzlov, appeared to give support to rebel governors in eastern provinces. He said that Ukraine now faced a choice between "bloodshed and a split."
The threat of Ukraine splitting in two receded yesterday after the eastern Donetsk region said it would not hold its referendum on self-rule as planned on Sunday.Donetsk's governor, Mr Anatoliy Bliznyuk, said his region was seeking "not autonomy, but to become a republic within Ukraine".
Meanwhile, cross-border trade is at a standstill and many factories have closed as a result of the protests. Te Central Bank has imposed a £150 withdrawal limit on ATM machines in an attempt to stop a run on the currency.