WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 ??“ Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych sought to assure an American audience Monday that his government is committed to democracy and European integration, but differs with President Viktor Yushchenko on when this can be achieved.

???In the area of foreign policy there is a single view and that is the European choice as the priority of Ukraine,??? Yanukovych said speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.

Yanukovych, on his first trip to Washington since appointment in August, seeks to repair his image that has been tainted on the West by his apparent involvement in rigging the presidential election in November 2004.

Yushchenko, a pro-Western leader, defeated pro-Russian Yanukovych in the re-run of the presidential vote that had been ordered by court in December 2004. But Yanukovych staged a comeback after his Regions Party had won parliamentary election in March. He now shares power with Yushchenko.

"The main goal that Yanukovych is coming with is to establish some credibility with the administration," Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and now a senior adviser at the think tank, told the Washington Post.

The comments outlining the commitment to the European integration and democracy come days after Yanukovych has pressed with the dismissal of Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk, a key backer of Ukraine??™s pro-Western foreign policy.

Yanukovych??™s Regions Party also pledged to sack pro-Western Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko in an apparent attempt to postpone Ukraine??™s accession to NATO.

The Yanukovych government over the past four months has been persistently seeking to slow Yushchenko??™s pro-Western foreign policy in favor of building stronger ties with Russia, the main supplier of oil and natural gas to Ukraine.

Yushchenko has been pushing for Ukraine to join NATO in 2008 and perhaps to join the European Union within a decade, but Yanukovych??™s opposition to the speedy accession to NATO will significantly delay the process.

???I believe we don??™t have differences with the president concerning the country??™s strategic prospects for the next 20-25 years,??? Yanukovych said. ???All differences are in tactics.???

Yanukovych said his government has been seeking to improve trade and economic relations with Russia, the key supplier of energy to Ukraine. Russia, which views NATO as a military threat, has briefly suspended supplies of natural gas to Ukraine in January citing a price dispute.

???We can??™t ignore economic, financial and energy factors,??? Yanukovych said. (tl/ez)