KIEV, April 9 ??“ The pro-Russian government coalition, which defies President Viktor Yushchenko??™s decree that has dissolved Parliament, held an emergency session on Monday amid fears that political confrontation was likely to escalate.

The session was held after pro-government lawmakers had cited reports that some army units may have been secretly put on alert triggering fears of growing political tensions.

But Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, an ally of Yushchenko, later dismissed the reports as unfounded, and assured the army was on a regular schedule. He said, however, the only unit that was on alert was a military intelligence unit protecting arms depots.

???Not a single army unit has been put on alert,??? Hrytsenko told Channel 5 late Monday. ???The president has banned [putting units on alert] for all forces.???

The developments underscore growing suspicions between the presidential office and pro-government groups suggesting the parties have been increasingly failing to find a compromise to diffuse tensions.

The coalition controls police force numbering up to 200,000 officers throughout the country, while the president controls the army, the security service and special forces.

Yushchenko dismissed Parliament on April 2 after Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych started to massively recruit individual opposition lawmakers to the pro-government coalition.

The pro-Russian coalition, which originally numbered 238 lawmakers, recently increased to about 260 and Yanukovych had publicly declared plans to control 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament by May 1.

Such a coalition, which would grossly distort results of the general election on March 26, 2006, would be veto-proof and would be able to unilaterally change the constitution.

Yushchenko, who cited his constitutional power to protect the constitution, moved to dismiss Parliament and to call early election for May 27. The coalition questioned the decree and refused to implement it.

On Monday, the coalition also approved a declaration that it would accept the early election to Parliament only together with early election of the president and a referendum on NATO membership.

The standoff is the worst political crisis in Ukraine since the Orange Revolution, the public uprising against election fraud in November 2004, which had catapulted Yushchenko to the presidency. (tl/ez)