KIEV, Feb. 4 - President Viktor Yanukovych will not use force to clear the streets and may challenge his opponents to early elections if they fail to compromise, according to comments by a political ally.

"We have every possibility of liberating administrative premises and even liberating Maidan by force," Yanukovych was quoted as saying by lawmaker Yuri Miroshnichenko, Reuters reported. "I will never do that, because these are also our citizens."