Ukrainian lawmakers fire foreign and interior ministers

Ukrainian lawmakers today fired the foreign minister and interior minister, setting the stage for a legal battle between the president and the premier.

Lawmakers voted 247-57 to fire Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, one of Ukraine’s most pro-Western officials and a key ally of President Viktor Yushchenko. Yushchenko, who is entitled under the Constitution to appoint the foreign minister, has said he would challenge such a move in Ukraine's Constitutional Court.