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| Infighting Hurts Ukraine Efforts to Form a New Government | |
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| KIEV, Ukraine — Struggling to reach a deal to form a new majority coalition in Parliament, and under excruciating pressure because of a looming economic disaster, the Ukrainian lawmakers temporarily running the country on Tuesday delayed until Thursday the naming of an acting prime minister and a provisional government. | KIEV, Ukraine — Struggling to reach a deal to form a new majority coalition in Parliament, and under excruciating pressure because of a looming economic disaster, the Ukrainian lawmakers temporarily running the country on Tuesday delayed until Thursday the naming of an acting prime minister and a provisional government. |
| The delay underscored the extreme difficulty that lawmakers now face in rebuilding the collapsed government left behind when President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday and was removed from power in a vote supported by some members of his own party. | The delay underscored the extreme difficulty that lawmakers now face in rebuilding the collapsed government left behind when President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday and was removed from power in a vote supported by some members of his own party. |
| The three main opposition parties, which share little in common politically, have been in fierce negotiations, not just among themselves, but also with civic activists and other groups representing the many constituencies involved in Ukraine’s three months of civic uprising. | The three main opposition parties, which share little in common politically, have been in fierce negotiations, not just among themselves, but also with civic activists and other groups representing the many constituencies involved in Ukraine’s three months of civic uprising. |
| Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the leader in Parliament of the Fatherland Party and a leading contender to serve as acting prime minister, pleaded with colleagues to swiftly reach an agreement on the designation of an interim government, which is needed to formally request emergency economic assistance from the International Monetary Fund. | Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the leader in Parliament of the Fatherland Party and a leading contender to serve as acting prime minister, pleaded with colleagues to swiftly reach an agreement on the designation of an interim government, which is needed to formally request emergency economic assistance from the International Monetary Fund. |
| “The deadline is Thursday, and I urge all democratic parties and all democratic persons and all democratic M.P.'s urgently to finalize the deal on the coalition,” Mr. Yatsenyuk told reporters outside the Parliament chamber. “We need urgently to hammer out this deal and to form the new government who is to be in charge of the country.” | “The deadline is Thursday, and I urge all democratic parties and all democratic persons and all democratic M.P.'s urgently to finalize the deal on the coalition,” Mr. Yatsenyuk told reporters outside the Parliament chamber. “We need urgently to hammer out this deal and to form the new government who is to be in charge of the country.” |
| “It’s not about the personalities,” Mr. Yatsenyuk added. “This is about the responsibility. You know to be in this government is to commit political suicide, and we need to be very frank and open.” | “It’s not about the personalities,” Mr. Yatsenyuk added. “This is about the responsibility. You know to be in this government is to commit political suicide, and we need to be very frank and open.” |
| A $15 billion bailout package secured by Mr. Yanukovych from Russia in December has been suspended, and Ukraine is now hurtling toward default. The value of the currency, the hryvnia, has fallen sharply, and the country’s bond rating has been downgraded so steeply by ratings agencies that the country effectively can no longer borrow on the international markets. | A $15 billion bailout package secured by Mr. Yanukovych from Russia in December has been suspended, and Ukraine is now hurtling toward default. The value of the currency, the hryvnia, has fallen sharply, and the country’s bond rating has been downgraded so steeply by ratings agencies that the country effectively can no longer borrow on the international markets. |
| Foreign reserves have plummeted, and the Ukrainian government will soon be unable to pay public salaries or pensions. In a statement on Monday, the acting finance minister said the country would need a staggering $35 billion in assistance between now and the end of next year. | Foreign reserves have plummeted, and the Ukrainian government will soon be unable to pay public salaries or pensions. In a statement on Monday, the acting finance minister said the country would need a staggering $35 billion in assistance between now and the end of next year. |
| As a manhunt continued for Mr. Yanukovych, who is now wanted in Kiev on charges of mass murder, a Ukrainian news agency reported that his chief of staff, who was believed to be traveling with the fugitive former president, had been shot in the leg. | As a manhunt continued for Mr. Yanukovych, who is now wanted in Kiev on charges of mass murder, a Ukrainian news agency reported that his chief of staff, who was believed to be traveling with the fugitive former president, had been shot in the leg. |
| The news agency, Interfax-Ukraine, quoted a spokesman, Artyom Petrenko, as saying that the chief of staff, Andriy Klyuyev, had been wounded, but, “as far as I know, there is no threat to his life.” Mr. Petrenko was quoted as saying that Mr. Klyuyev had resigned on Sunday. The spokesman gave no details on Mr. Klyuyev’s whereabouts. | The news agency, Interfax-Ukraine, quoted a spokesman, Artyom Petrenko, as saying that the chief of staff, Andriy Klyuyev, had been wounded, but, “as far as I know, there is no threat to his life.” Mr. Petrenko was quoted as saying that Mr. Klyuyev had resigned on Sunday. The spokesman gave no details on Mr. Klyuyev’s whereabouts. |
| In Kiev, the new speaker of Parliament, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, who is a veteran lawmaker and a former acting prime minister, has been designated to carry out the duties of president. On Tuesday, Parliament voted, 316 to 0, to authorize Mr. Turchynov to sign legislation adopted by Parliament. | In Kiev, the new speaker of Parliament, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, who is a veteran lawmaker and a former acting prime minister, has been designated to carry out the duties of president. On Tuesday, Parliament voted, 316 to 0, to authorize Mr. Turchynov to sign legislation adopted by Parliament. |
| In other legislative developments on Tuesday, Parliament voted 331 to 0 to schedule elections for mayor of Kiev and the Kiev City Council on May 25, the same day as the presidential voting. Parliament also voted to give the International Criminal Court in The Hague jurisdiction to handle cases related to the deadly violence by the police against antigovernment demonstrators last week. | In other legislative developments on Tuesday, Parliament voted 331 to 0 to schedule elections for mayor of Kiev and the Kiev City Council on May 25, the same day as the presidential voting. Parliament also voted to give the International Criminal Court in The Hague jurisdiction to handle cases related to the deadly violence by the police against antigovernment demonstrators last week. |
| The Ukrainian authorities have already said that dozens of officials are now wanted on charges connected to the deaths last week. It was not immediately clear how the vote on the International Criminal Court might affect the local investigations or change any legal proceedings against former officials. | The Ukrainian authorities have already said that dozens of officials are now wanted on charges connected to the deaths last week. It was not immediately clear how the vote on the International Criminal Court might affect the local investigations or change any legal proceedings against former officials. |
| Underscoring the breakneck pace at which political events have been unfolding here in the capital, campaigning officially began on Tuesday for the emergency presidential election that is now scheduled for May 25. | |
| Vitali Klitschko, the former champion boxer and a leader of one of the main parties in Parliament, the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, immediately declared his candidacy for president. Mr. Klitschko had long said that he would run, but his announcement made clear that his presidential ambitions have not been diminished by the release from prison on Saturday of former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, who is also expected to run. | |
| While Ukraine desperately needs economic aid, which has been promised repeatedly by Brussels and Washington, it was unclear how quickly help would arrive. The International Monetary Fund has made clear that it will demand austerity measures and other long-stalled economic changes in exchange for any assistance package. | |
| At a news conference in Kiev on Tuesday, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, urged the Ukrainian Parliament to form a government that was inclusive and representative of all views, and called for peace and calm. But on her visit, her fourth to Ukraine since the recent crisis started, she brought nothing in the way of concrete help. | At a news conference in Kiev on Tuesday, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, urged the Ukrainian Parliament to form a government that was inclusive and representative of all views, and called for peace and calm. But on her visit, her fourth to Ukraine since the recent crisis started, she brought nothing in the way of concrete help. |
| Ms. Ashton met with leaders of all the major parties, including Mr. Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, which had controlled the majority until several of its members defected in response to the killing by the authorities of dozens of antigovernment demonstrators last week. And she praised Parliament for filling the power vacuum left when Mr. Yanukovych fled. | |
| “It was interesting for me to see the Parliament, the Rada, functioning,” Ms. Ashton said. “It’s very, very important, in my view, that citizens all across the country can see that the institutions are working and they are working to deliver for the people.” | |
| In her meetings with politicians and civic activists, she said, “my message to all of them has been: You need to work together.” She added, “You need to work together, and you need to recognize the importance of public accountability for everything you do and to build into your thinking how you will ensure that you are open and transparent and responsive to what the people want.” | |
| Ms. Ashton said she had been in contact with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, about the situation in Ukraine, and had stressed the importance of preventing violence and safeguarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine. | |
| The Kremlin has said that it views the ousting of Mr. Yanukovych and other actions by the Ukrainian Parliament as illegal, and on Tuesday the Russian Foreign Ministry said it opposed the plans for a presidential election in May because that violated an agreement brokered with Mr. Yanukovych on Friday that had called for elections in December. | The Kremlin has said that it views the ousting of Mr. Yanukovych and other actions by the Ukrainian Parliament as illegal, and on Tuesday the Russian Foreign Ministry said it opposed the plans for a presidential election in May because that violated an agreement brokered with Mr. Yanukovych on Friday that had called for elections in December. |
| Russia’s representative at those talks had declined to sign the document, and the agreement seems to have been rendered virtually meaningless by subsequent events. | Russia’s representative at those talks had declined to sign the document, and the agreement seems to have been rendered virtually meaningless by subsequent events. |