Yushchenko's party debates PM alliance

KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Members of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's party say they are debating whether to reform their shattered alliance with the country's prime minister.

A ruling parliamentary coalition between Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party and the bloc controlled by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko fell apart last month. Our Ukraine members said they were close to making a decision on whether to follow Yushchenko's call to drop negotiations to restore the alliance and move on to elections, RIA Novosti reported.

"We have heard the president. His position is straightforward -- he is against any talks with Tymoshenko's bloc and is in favor of earlier elections," the Russian news agency quoted Our Ukraine MP Taras Stetskyv as telling local media. "Our faction must now make a decision on its own."

Earlier Tuesday, Yushchenko spoke against reforming the coalition with Tymoshenko's bloc, saying she should instead form a new ruling alliance with either the pro-Russian Party of Regions or the Communists.

The collapse of the coalition came after Tymoshenko's party sided with pro-Russian opposition on a move to slash the president's powers and her refusal to support a condemnation of Russia's military operations in Georgia.