MUNICH, Feb. 10 ??“ Ukraine will seek to accelerate accession to the European Union and NATO despite recent setbacks, President Viktor Yushchenko said Saturday.

The comment challenges position of the pro-Russian coalition government that seeks to slow down the accession suggesting that Ukrainian parties will be split on the issue.

???We will consistently be integrating into the European institutions and will do it as soon as possible,??? Yushchenko told reporters on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich.

Yushchenko??™s comments challenge the position of Russia, which has been aggressively opposing the expansion of NATO, viewed by Moscow as a military threat.

The developments suggest that Ukraine will continue to face pressure from Russia over natural gas prices, the leverage that Russia has been increasingly using to try to change Ukraine??™s foreign policy.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian figure, has been seeking to postpone Ukraine??™s accession to NATO apparently in a bid to win better natural gas prices in talks with Russia.

???We had almost lost our economy due to the foreign policy that didn??™t make any sense,??? Yanukovych said in an interview with Russian newspaper Nashe Vremya. ???Our steel sector and chemical industry depend on prices for Russian natural gas.???

The Yanukovych-led coalition put pressure on pro-Western Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk over the past two months forcing him to step down. Tarasiuk, a Yushchenko ally, was an architect of the pro-Western foreign policy.

???We have to define our policy over NATO by the entire nation,??? Yanukovych said. ???We have to hold a referendum and see whether people need that or not. I saw statistics showing that the NATO accession is backed by 13-15% of the people, which is too little for changing the foreign policy course.???

Yushchenko??™s plans to accelerate the accession to NATO are likely to trigger a wave of pressure from the pro-Russian government on Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, the only remaining pro-Western figure in the government.

Hrytsenko, who works hard to improve cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, has received an official warning from Yanukovych over a recent spat with Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz. The warning is seen by analysts as a signal that the coalition may soon try to fire the minister.

???The government is a team that must work in a single spirit,??? Boris Kolesnikov, a senior member of the pro-government Regions Party, said. ???All ministers are members of the team that must stick to its decisions.???

Asked whether the coalition will seek to replace Hrytsenko, Kolesnikov said: ???I believe that Hrytsenko wants to dismiss himself.??? (nr/ez)