President Victor Yushchenko on Thursday met with Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister and leader of Ukraine’s biggest opposition bloc.
The president insisted that the country’s democratic forces must be united to win this week’s parliamentary elections and form a coalition government. He is convinced all the democrats, especially those who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in Kyiv’s Independence Square during the Orange revolution, have learned a lesson from their falling out. He said it was very important to make Ukrainian voters believe the democrats are ready to act together and implement national priorities. “I would like to say that we have only one option and this option is to form a democratic coalition. Full stop. There will be no other coalition,” he said.
Yushchenko said the democratic forces should carry out “effective and fast” policies for the people “so that they should feel that their victory pays for all the expectations they have had.” He said the country had lost many opportunities over the past year and a half.
“We all understand that there are lots of things that should be resolved in union. I am ready to discuss these issues together, take responsibility and move ahead,” he said.
Tymoshenko agreed that the democratic forces must unite and focus their attention on improving the Ukrainian people’s welfare. “I really believe that this is the most important thing. There must be only a democratic coalition. I am convinced the democratic forces will have a parliamentary majority,” she said.
