KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Ukraine President Victor Yushchenko says opponents are trying to stage a "constitutional coup" as the country's government seemed on the brink of collapse.
Yushchenko accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a member of the ruling coalition, of political treachery by siding with the opposition Party of Regions in a move to strip some powers from the president and transfer them to the prime minister, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Party quit the governing coalition in protest Tuesday, and the president hinted he'll dissolve Parliament and seek early elections to find new coalition partners.
The trigger appeared to be Yushchenko's vehement opposition to Russia's occupation of Georgia, the British newspaper said. Tymoshenko, by contrast, has remained circumspect on the issue and her bloc failed to endorse a strongly worded resolution blaming Russia for the South Ossetian conflict.
Some observers said part of the reason for the fallout is that Tymoshenko is expected to challenge former Orange Revolution ally Yushchenko for the presidency in 2010.
