Ukrainian stand-off continues as rivals hold talks

THE rivals for the Ukrainian presidency sat down and talked last night with European and Russian envoys and the man they both hope to succeed.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma hosted the talks in Kiev with reformist opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

The long-awaited talks came after six days of massive street protests in the capital against alleged election fraud.

The opposition says Mr Yuschenko was robbed of victory in last Sunday's run-off while the West has also criticised the vote.

European envoys arrived in Kiev yesterday in an effort to help solve the political crisis which has threatened to erupt into violence. Mr Kuchma's government certified pro-Moscow candidate Mr Yanukovych as the winner, but the Western-leaning Mr Yushchenko claims he was victorious.

The result was frozen by the Supreme Court following an opposition appeal and will rule on Monday.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, and Jan Kubis, the current head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe also attended yesterday's meeting.

Mr Kuchma, who admitted "the situation is more than difficult," thanked the envoys for "making every effort so that these negotiations take place not on the street which can never give a positive result but around a negotiating table."

Mr Yushchenko had previously said he would negotiate only with Mr Kuchma, and that the main condition for holding talks was the president's acknowledgement that the election was invalid.

But Mr Kuchma who wants his pro-Moscow premier to win did not show any sign of backing down. "Any revolution must end in peace," he said. "The sooner this so-called revolution ends, the better it will be for the Ukrainian people."

Throngs of Yushchenko supporters have set up a sprawling tent camp along a main avenue and square in the capital Kiev, braving freezing temperatures for five straight nights.

Mr Yanukovych, meanwhile, rallied thousands of his supporters waving his blue-and-white campaign flags in front of Kiev's rail station. Many had apparently arrived in buses and trains from Ukraine's industrial east, Mr Yanukovych's main support base.

"I don't need power at the cost of spilled blood," Mr Yanukovych said .

In Chernihiv, about 80 miles north of Kiev, police fired smoke charges over the heads of a crowd of opposition supporters after someone threw an what the authorities described as an "explosive packet" at a police cordon outside the mayor's office.

In Kiev, protesters standing five deep and linking arms blockaded the cabinet building where Mr Yanukovych works and refused to let staff enter.

Protesters also blocked surrounding streets with buses and vans decorated with Yushchenko's orange flags, posters and ribbons. Apart from a few traffic policemen wearing orange armbands, there were no police present in the immediate vicinity.

However, special forces had parked some 30 trucks and jeeps in an alley and police were packed into about 12 buses nearby.

Protesters also surrounded the presidential administration building, which was heavily guarded by police in riot gear.

The crisis raised the prospect of civil conflict. Mr Yanukovych drew his support from the pro-Russian, heavily industrialised eastern half of Ukraine. Yushchenko's strength was in the nationalist west.