KIEV, Jan. 13 – President Viktor Yushchenko’s hopes for securing support from other candidates ahead of Sunday’s election were dashed on Wednesday after one of the leading contenders had declined to cooperate.

Arseniy Yatseniuk, the No. 4 candidate who had been positioning himself as a pro-European figure, ruled out a scenario that would force him to withdraw from the race in favor of Yushchenko.

“There are no circumstances that would make me withdraw from the race,” Yatseniuk said.