KIEV, Dec. 14 ??“ Parliament, led by the pro-government coalition, on Thursday refused to dismiss Ihor Drizhchaniy, the head of the SBU security service, in an apparent backlash to President Viktor Yushchenko??™s veto on the 2007 budget.

Yushchenko asked Parliament last week to dismiss Drizhchaniy seeking to speed up reform of the security service. He appointed Drizhchaniy as the deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.