Agreement in Ukraine Appears to Resolve Political Crisis

MOSCOW, May 27 -- Ukraine's divided political leadership early Sunday appeared to resolve a political crisis that had threatened to turn violent, with an agreement by the country's president and prime minister to hold parliamentary elections Sept. 30.

"We found a decision, which is a compromise," President Viktor Yushchenko said after eight hours of talks with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. "Now we can say that the political crisis in Ukraine is over."

The two sides, however, had appeared to reach agreement on elections earlier this month only to have the feuding intensify.

"I believe the experience we have acquired from this crisis shows that we have learned certain lessons," Yanukovych said.

Earlier, Yushchenko had ordered thousands of Interior Ministry troops to the capital, Kiev, on Saturday as a power struggle with Yanukovych ballooned into a potentially grave clash over who controls sections of the country's security forces. On Friday, Yushchenko signed a decree placing the ministry troops under his command -- an order that Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko, a Yanukovych loyalist, rejected.

The troops, however, are under the command of a Yushchenko ally, and some but not all units followed orders to head to Kiev. On the way, some of them were reportedly stopped by traffic police who were following a government order to stop the deployment.

The escalating succession of commands and counter-commands testing loyalties among the country's police and security services has alarmed foreign governments and raised fears that a poisonous political feud could spill into violence between armed units of the state.

The two leaders' camps represent distinct regional interests in the former Soviet republic: Yanukovych draws most of his support from the Russian-speaking east, and Yushchenko has a strong base in the Ukrainian-speaking west. Yanukovych is regarded as closer to Moscow, while Yushchenko favors Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance and the European Union.

In a statement, the E.U. said the country's divided leaders should avoid any action that would lead to the "use of the armed security forces."

The crisis has focused on the division of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Yushchenko and his allies have accused Yanukovych of undermining and usurping presidential powers. Yushchenko's allies also said the prime minister was using bribery and blackmail to create a constitutional majority in parliament that would disempower the executive branch.

Yanukovych rejected Yushchenko's decision to dissolve parliament on April 2 and accused him, in turn, of violating the constitution to frustrate parliament's wishes. The two sides appeared to reach agreement this month on early elections, but that apparent accord foundered on technical disputes concerning a vote.

To the fury of Yanukovych, Yushchenko fired a number of judges in the constitutional court who would rule on his decree to dissolve parliament.

The crisis reached a new pitch last week when Yushchenko also fired the country's prosecutor general, Svyatoslav Piskun, a Yanukovych ally, saying his position was legally incompatible with his membership in parliament.

Security officers loyal to Yushchenko tried to oust Piskun from his office in Kiev, but riot police loyal to Yanukovych came to the scene to protect him.

The presidential order to deploy troops of the Interior Ministry to the capital quickly followed. The ministry has charge of domestic security.

"Moving the Interior troops into the city is necessary to guarantee a calm life for the city, to prevent provocations," Ivan Plyushch, head of the National Security Council, said according to the presidential Web site. Plyushch said the troops would "oversee the safety of state institutions, public order and the safety of residents."