KIEV, Dec. 14 ??“ President Viktor Yushchenko will meet members of the pro-government coalition on Friday to try to find a compromise over the 2007 budget as deadline looms for the government to approve the changes.

Yushchenko vetoed the budget on Monday in order to force the government to increase minimum wages and pensions, a plan that may cost extra $1 billion to $2 billion. The government must approve the budget before Dec. 31 or face financial crunch next month.

???I agreed to find time in my schedule for such a meeting with the so-called anti-crisis coalition,??? Yushchenko said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, the meeting comes as the Federation of Trade Unions, Ukraine??™s largest trade union organization listing 10.5 million members, backed the president in his standoff with the government over wages.

The backing from the organization that had used to support Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych may be an important tool to put pressure on the government to accept the changes suggested by Yushchenko.

???The government and Parliament ignored the main demands from the trade unions,??? the FTU said in a statement. ???The Federation decisively demands that Parliament without delay revise the budget to accept the president??™s suggestions over the minimum wages and pensions.???

The support from the largest trade union may help Yushchenko to improve his popular rating, which has been falling since September 2005 following a corruption scandal in the government.

???Most of Ukrainians like the president??™s position,??? Finance Minister Mykola Azarov said. ???But the government must try to find the right balance between the interests of today??™s consumption and the country??™s development.???

Arseniy Yatseniuk, Yushchenko??™s deputy chief of staff, said wages and pensions can be increased at the expense of cutting massive state spending on investment projects, like building a new airport in Donetsk.

Another option is selling UkrTelekom, the national phone company, and the Odessa Port Plant, a big producer of mineral fertilizers. ???Selling UkrTelekom and Odessa Port Plant can help earn extra 12 billion hryvnias ($2.4 billion),??? Yatseniuk said.

Yushchenko also cautioned the government against increasing the budget deficit, which has been set at about $3 billion hryvnias, or 2.55% of the GDP. (nr/ez)