KIEV, Dec. 20 ??“ A dozen of pro-government lawmakers used force to prevent Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk, an ally of President Viktor Yushchenko, from joining a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday as political crisis in Ukraine deepened.

Tarasiuk, whose controversial dismissal by Parliament was suspended by a court and whose authority had been re-assured by a decree from the president, was unable to attend the Cabinet meeting since Dec. 1.

???Today, there was a defiant assault on the constitution, on Ukrainian law,??? Yaroslav Kendzior, a lawmaker from Our Ukraine, said in a statement in Parliament. ???A silence from the Prosecutor General Office shows they cover up the criminals.???

The development underlines a growing political crisis in Ukraine as the pro-Russian government seeks to replace Tarasiuk, a key pro-Western ally of Yushchenko, in order to slow down the country??™s accession to NATO.

Yushchenko, who nominated the foreign minister, said the firing of Tarasiuk was illegal. He recently indicated the standoff over the minister could lead to the dismissal of Parliament.

Arseniy Yatseniuk, the first deputy chief of staff at the Yushchenko office, left the Cabinet meeting after he had failed to persuade the government to allow Tarasiuk to join the meeting.

???For 30 minutes I tried to persuade the Cabinet to let Tarasiuk in,??? Yatseniuk said, adding that the presidential office will comment on the matter on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych indicated on Wednesday that the standoff may dramatically escalate soon after suggesting that Parliament may take an action soon to appoint a new Foreign Minister.

???It??™s better for the president to come up with a candidate,??? Yanukovych said. ???If the president doesn??™t do it, Parliament will.???

Under the constitution, the president nominates foreign and defense ministers, while Parliament votes to approve them. The constitution doesn??™t clearly state on how the ministers can be dismissed causing different interpretation among political groups.

The Yanukovych government apparently already defied the constitution this week after the Internal Affairs Ministry had refused to comply with Yushchenko??™s order to suspend a Cabinet resolution appointing seven top police officials.

The constitution allows the president to suspend any Cabinet resolution until the Constitutional Court rules otherwise. (tl/ez)