KIEV, April 24 – Arseniy Yatseniuk, a popular former parliamentary speaker, on Friday called reported constitutional talks between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the opposition Regions Party a “collusion” to split power between the two.

Yatseniuk, who is widely expected to run for the presidency, reacted to reports that Tymoshenko and the Regions had resumed the talks and seek to change the way the next president is elected.

“These are not the first talks between the Regions Party and the Tymoshenko Bloc,” Yatseniuk said at a talk show on Inter television late Friday. “This is a long and an old story that can be described as the constitutional collusion in order to stay in power.”

Tymoshenko and the Regions Party recently resumed the talks seeking to amend the constitution to make sure the next president is elected in Parliament, not through the nation-wide vote, Segodnia daily reported.

Tymoshenko Bloc and the Regions Party refused to comment on the report.

Segodnia, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the wealthiest Ukrainian businessman and the key financial sponsor of the Regions Party, said at least one senior official at the Regions Party had confirmed the talks are underway.

Yatseniuk’s reaction underscores his concerns over the development. His popularity has been growing sharply over the past several months making him one of the favorite candidates to win the presidency in the nation-wide vote.

Tymoshenko’s popular support, however, has been steadily dwindling as people blame her government for slow response to the sweeping economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Tymoshenko and the Regions Party, led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have been making progress in the talks, Ukrayina Moloda daily reported on Friday citing a source at the Tymoshenko Bloc.

According to preliminary arrangement, the Regions Party would get control over economic and financial posts in the government, such as the finance minister and economic ministry, while Tymoshenko will keep the post of the prime minister, the daily reported.

But Yatseniuk said if the groups finally strike the agreement and amend the constitution, this would be a sign of their weakness.

“I doubt the Regions Party will go for it,” Yatseniuk said. “But if they do, this means that these two groups are not confident in their victory at the presidential election. Secondly, they are not convinced they can win parliamentary election.”

People familiar with the situation said that Tymoshenko seeks to keep the post of the prime minister in exchange for allowing the Regions Party to nominate Yanukovych as the president to be appointed by Parliament. The Regions may also get the post of parliamentary speaker, the people said.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, who leads a small group in Parliament supporting the Tymoshenko coalition, has refused to join the talks between the two groups. Instead, he said early parliamentary election may now be looming.

“The early parliamentary election is a reality,” Lytvyn said Friday suggesting his group may eventually exit the coalition.

Yatseniuk, who does not have his own group in Parliament, said letting Tymoshenko Bloc and the Regions Party elect the next president is a “way for conservation of power.”

“Here is my advice: Just add to the constitution the names of the prime minister, the speaker and the president,” Yatseniuk said sarcastically addressing Tymoshenko and Yanukovych.

“Don’t go through all this pain,” he said. “Simply introduce the constitutional monarchy and then we should be able to surpass even African countries.” (tl/ez)