KIEV, Nov. 1 ??“ Parliament, led by the pro-government coalition, voted Wednesday to appoint Oleksandr Lavrynovych as new justice minister replacing Roman Zvarych on the post. Parliament also appointed Yuriy Bohutskiy as culture minister replacing Ihor Likhoviy.

The reshuffle replaces ministers that have been loyal to President Viktor Yushchenko with figures loyal to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and may further escalate tensions between the two.

Also, the coalition tried, but failed to sack Internal Affairs Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, Yushchenko??™s loyalist, after a small coalition member, the Socialist Party, had refused to back the motion.

Lavrynovych, who was justice minister from May 2002 through February 2005, is an architect of a recent confrontation between the government and the presidential office over Yushchenko??™s decrees.

The position of the justice minister is especially important as the ministry is authorized to register all governmental resolutions before they come into effect.

Zvarych, a member of Yushchenko??™s Our Ukraine, has often used his power to delay or reject registration of controversial resolutions thus easing the standoff between the presidential office and the government.

???Of course, the resignations of Our Ukraine ministers do not add compromises or new ground for political talks,??? Yushchenko said. ???This makes the dialog between political parties even more complicated.???

The reshuffle comes after Our Ukraine last month decided to quit the government following the collapse of talks with Yanukovych??™s Regions Party over broad ruling coalition.

The talks collapsed after the Regions Party, a moderately pro-Russian group, had refused to back speedy accession to NATO and had been seeking to delay accession to the World Trade Organization. Accessions to NATO and to the WTO are Yushchenko??™s key foreign policy initiatives.

Meanwhile, Parliament on Wednesday postponed decision on another two ministers from Our Ukraine, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko and Healthcare Minister Yuriy Poliachenko. Yanukovych said the coalition will need more time to pick the replacements.

The reshuffle reduces legislative support for the Yanukovych government to three groups, including the Regions Party, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party.

The coalition now controls about 240 lawmakers in 450-seat Parliament, but is often joined in voting by about 19 lawmakers that had earlier defected from two opposition groups. (tl/ez)