Ukraine's leaders to hold parliamentary vote

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ukraine's president and prime minister on Sunday agreed to hold an early parliamentary election on Sept. 30, diffusing the country's months-long political crisis that had threatened to escalate into violence. "We found a decision, which is a compromise," Yushchenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Tensions between Yushchenko, who has sought to lead Ukraine into the European Union and NATO, and his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who seeks to preserve Ukraine's close ties with Moscow, have been building since the president ordered parliament disbanded in April and called new elections.