KIEV, April 12 - Signs of a compromise appeared Thursday in Ukraine's power struggle as Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych signaled he was ready to participate in early elections called for by his political rival President Viktor Yushchenko.

In what appeared to be a major concession, Yanukovych said he could take part in an election even if the Constitutional Court, which is due to start hearings next week, ruled that Yushchenko's demand was illegitimate.

"If the court rules the decree was unconstitutional, an election is possible if all the participants in the political process reach an agreement in political terms," Yanukovych said, according to AFP.

The crisis, now in its second week, began when the pro-Western Yushchenko issued a decree dissolving Parliament and calling new election.

Yanukovych's Russian-backed allies have until now refused to comply, resulting in constitutional paralysis.

According to Yushchenko's decree, new parliamentary elections had to take place on May 27, although a senior presidential aide said Wednesday that the decree might be suspended to postpone the election to a later date.

Yushchenko on Thursday underlined his determination to go ahead with the vote, telling journalists that he had ruled out rescinding his decree.

But he played down the crisis saying international mediation was not yet necessary and there was no chance the protests would descend into violence.

"There will be no resolution by force," Yushchenko said. "We live in a country located at the centre of Europe, which follows democratic laws."

As the two sides negotiated, their supporters continued to take to the streets.

Several thousand supporters of Yanukovych gathered on the capital's main square waving the blue flags of his Regions Party, which leads the anti-Yushchenko coalition dominating parliament.

A few hundred Yushchenko supporters, waving the orange flags of his Our Ukraine party, gathered nearby.

Pressure has been growing on the Constitutional Court, which is due to rule on whether Yushchenko's original April 2 decree dissolving Parliament and calling new polls was legal.

Tension increased this week when at the last minute the court announced that the initial hearings would be put back until next week.
Several judges, including three Yushchenko appointees, complained they had come under political pressure and requested bodyguards.

Yanukovych reiterated Thursday that he would respect the court's decision in the event of a favorable ruling for Yushchenko.
But his suggestion that he could support elections even if the court declared the decree illegal marked a sharp about-turn.

But he did not lay out how likely it was that all other forces in Ukraine's complex political landscape would also agree to early elections in such circumstances.

Yanukovych's show of flexibility followed the apparent olive branch held out Wednesday by Vitaliy Hayduk, a top security advisor to Yushchenko, who said the May 27 election date -- just six weeks away -- was not set in stone.

During a suspension of the decree, a date for early elections would be negotiated with parliament, said Hayduk. That would ensure that all parties, including those currently opposed to Yushchenko, had time to campaign. (afp/ez)