KIEV, Ukraine, April 4 (UPI) -- Embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says he would consider calling early presidential elections under certain conditions.
While a gathering of pro-Russian demonstrators estimated at as many as 20,000 called for the defeat of the president, whom they blame for the country's economic crisis, Yuschenko issued a surprising statement Friday saying he would agree to early elections, but only if they take place at the same time as parliamentary polls, local media reported.
Ukraine's Unian press agency quoted the president saying, "I am prepared to approve the decision on an early presidential election," but adding it must be part of a "package including parliamentary elections," RIA Novosti reported.
Support for Yushchenko, who came to power in the so-called Orange Revolution five years ago, has plummeted to 3 percent as demand for the Ukraine's biggest export, steel, has fallen, sparking an economic freefall that has seen the country's currency lose 40 percent of its value, The New York Times said.
