Ukraine prime minister undergoes knee operation

KIEV, May 9 (Reuters) Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, embroiled in a protracted political crisis with Ukraine's president, has undergone a knee operation in Spain, his personal Web site said today.

The site said the 40-minute operation was carried out successfully and the prime minister would return home within three to four days should no complications arise. The prime minister hurt his knee while playing tennis last month, aggravating a sports injury dating from the 1980s.

Yanukovich has for months been locked in a battle over division of powers with President Viktor Yushchenko, the pro-Western leader who defeated him in the re-run of a rigged 2004 election after weeks of ''Orange Revolution'' street rallies.

The two men agreed last week to hold an early parliamentary election, but negotiations have made little progress in settling the terms of the poll, particularly when it is to take place.

The president wants the election by July, while the prime minister says no vote can take place until October.

REUTERS SKB ND1612