KIEV, May 23 ??“ Oleksandr Turchynov, the No. 2 man in the opposition group led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, was appointed as deputy secretary of the presidential top security body.

Turchynov replaced Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy on the post of the deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, the body that is authorized by the constitution to run the country at the time of a crisis.

The appointment suggests that pro-Western Yushchenko has been preparing for the worst-case scenario in the standoff with the pro-Russian government coalition after talks between the two had failed.

The parties were in a deadlock for weeks failing to agree on a date for the early election. Opposition parties, including the Tymoshenko group and Our Ukraine, have been seeking to hold the election before the middle of July.

Coalition parties, including the Regions Party, have been seeking to postpone the election at least through the end of October, but perhaps for even longer than that. The coalition refused to finance the election de-facto sabotaging Yushchenko??™s decree that had set the date for the election on June 24.

Turchynov, a former chief of the SBU security service, was one of the most vocal supporters calling on Yushchenko to use the National Security and Defense Council for resolving the crisis.

???The council was joined by a quality manager that has a strong sense of danger and threats to the country,??? Viktor Baloha, the chief of staff at the Yushchenko office, said after the appointment. ???The president believes the appointment will improve the effectiveness of the council.???

The coalition apparently fears that the appointment may lead to the resolution of the political crisis by force, such as suspending the government and pushing through the early election.

Turchynov ???has been calling for and insisting on the president to use all options for implementing its unconstitutional decree,??? Vasyl Kyseliov, a spokesman for the Regions Party, said. (nr/ez)