KIEV, Feb. 25 ??“ Our Ukraine and the group led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the country??™s two biggest opposition parties, Saturday signed an agreement to create an alliance that would oppose the ruling pro-Russian coalition.

The alliance, which would control about 200 seats in 450-seat Parliament, pledged to campaign for an early general election in Ukraine in a bid to replace the government and to accelerate reforms.

The developments come amid escalating tensions between President Viktor Yushchenko and pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whose government has been working hard to slow down Ukraine??™s pro-Western foreign policy.

Following implementation of controversial amendments to the constitution last year, Yanukovych has been seeking to reduce presidential powers dramatically.

The agreement, signed by Tymoshenko and by Viktor Baloha, Yushchenko??™s chief of staff who chairs Our Ukraine party, seeks to support the president in his confrontation with the government.

???This is the fight with the coup d'etat that has been conducted by the coalition and by its government,??? Baloha said after signing the agreement.

Baloha, ever since his appointment in September 2006, has been seeking to improve cooperation between the presidential office and the government. But his comments suggest the president has now been taking a tougher line in the confrontation with the government.

The amendments to the constitution allow the government coalition to conduct most of domestic policies, while leaving the foreign and defense policies in the hands of the president.

The Yanukovych coalition, however, challenged Yushchenko and tried to change the country??™s foreign policy course by forcing Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk, Yushchenko??™s ally and an architect of Ukraine??™s speedy accession to NATO, to resign.

In another blow to the course, the coalition last week rejected Volodymyr Ohryzko, Yushchenko??™s choice, as the new foreign minister. Pro-government lawmakers said they had been seeking to appoint a diplomat that would be more loyal to Russia. The coalition also rejected Yushchenko??™s nomination of Viktor Korol as SBU security service chief.

In the agreement, Our Ukraine and the Tymoshenko bloc agreed that Ukraine has to accelerate accession to NATO and to the European Union, but also to diversify Ukraine??™s imports of energy and to speed up liberalization of the economy.

Both parties pledged to work hard for the early election in order to replace the government of Yanukovych. The parties agreed to share all future posts in the government 50-50, while the position of the prime minister would be secured by a party that collects more votes at the election. This suggests that Tymoshenko group and Our Ukraine are not likely to join each other to form a single political group.

???If there will be the early election, we will run by two blocs,??? Tymoshenko said in an interview with Inter Television late Sunday. ???Our political group will run separately and Our Ukraine separately. We??™re not talking about the single party list.??? (tl/ez)