KIEV, Ukraine
Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych has agreed on a coalition government on Wednesday, Vladimir Rybak, speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) said.
In a meeting with a delegation of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly led by Hugh Bayley, Yanukovych accepted the coalition government, a statement from the Verkhovna Rada read.
Rybak stressed that the coalition government must be apolitical and focus on economic problems.
Ukraine's Former Prime Minister and leader of the Party of Regions Nikolai Azarov offered his resignation on January 28, and it was accepted by Yanukovych.
During negotiation talks between Yanukovych and the opposition, Yanukovych offered Batkivshchyna leader Arseniy Yatseniuk the post of prime minister, and Udar leader Vitali Klitschko the post of Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Humanitarian Affairs.
Both offers were rejected by the opposition claiming that several key demands need to be met first, including a free trade agreement with the European Union, the release of political prisoners, and early presidential elections.
Rybak described the opposition's demands as an "ultimatum and diktat."
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