Ukraine president takes control of interior troops

KIEV, May 25 (Reuters) President Viktor Yushchenko said today he was taking control of interior ministry troops loyal to Ukraine's prime minister, a direct challenge to the rival he has confronted for months.

Yushchenko issued his decree hours after riot police controlled by the interior minister took over a key building in Kiev following scuffles. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich's supporters planned a rally in the city centre later in the day.

The decree concerns troops largely responsible for maintaining public order and not the army, which is controlled by one of pro-western Yushchenko's few allies in the cabinet.

Tensions boiled over yesterday when Yushchenko dismissed Ukraine's prosecutor general and accused riot police who rushed to his office to defend him of breaking the law.

Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko, who oversaw the seizure by riot police of the prosecutor general's office, remained defiant and said he alone would control his forces.

''I am told that I am interfering in politics. Well, I will keep interfering because I can no longer tolerate lies and nonsense,'' he told parliament which is hostile to the president.

''As interior minister I will ensure order. I alone take responsibility for the forces are to be used for that purpose.'' Yushchenko said baldly that Tsushko had committed a crime.

Yanukovich said Svyatoslav Piskun's dismissal as prosecutor general was groundless and assured Ukrainians he would allow neither anarchy nor civil war.

Yushchenko and Yanukovich, closer to Moscow in outlook, have been unable to agree on a date for a snap parliamentary election nearly two months after the president dissolved parliament.

The president invited the prime minister to new talks, but it was unclear whether they would take place. He conferred with security officials, as he did late into the night, and scheduled a meeting of the powerful National Security council.

There was no trace of tension in the streets of central Kiev.

Several thousand people marched towards the president's office ahead of the rally later in the afternoon.

OVERNIGHT STANDOFF Police loyal to Tsushko maintained a standoff through the night in the prosecutor general's office with a separate security unit charged with guarding government buildings.

Periodic scuffles broke out. As dawn approached, members of parliament allied with Yanukovich, backed up by riot police, evicted the other unit from the office. Thousands of the prime minister's supporters gathered outside.

Since Yushchenko's election in 2004 on the back of mass ''Orange Revolution'' protests, Ukraine has been torn between centuries of links with Russia and Yushchenko's drive towards long-term NATO and European Union membership.

The deadlock has hobbled most political activity and bewildered Western leaders.

The crisis has had little effect on an economy expected to grow by 6.5 per cent this year but Ukraine's grain harvest, often a key political issue, is threatened this year by drought.

The newly appointed prosecutor general, unable to enter his office, said legal action had been launched against Tsushko.

Television footage yesterday showed riot police, accompanied by Tsushko, clambering over a fence and smashing their way into the building to enable Piskun to gain entry.

Both Yushchenko and Yanukovich called this week for quick action to break the deadlock over the election date.

The president, who wants a poll as quickly as possible, said a deal to stage the vote had collapsed at the last minute. The prime minister says no election can be held before October.

REUTERS SV BD1715