KIEV, March 24 – A Communist Party member on Wednesday was appointed head of the Customs Service, a post supervising billions of hryvnaias in state revenue, averting a collapse of the governing coalition.

The appointment of Ihor Kaletnik came shortly after a meeting between President Viktor Yanukovych and Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko, who apparently delivered an ultimatum, a person familiar with the situation said.

The Communist Party, a founding member of the coalition, had been growing unhappy since the coalition was created on March 11, alleging its representatives had too few appointments.

A week ago, the Communist Party issued a statement criticizing the government’s plans to resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which appeared to be the first sign of split within the coalition.

The statement was later followed by open attacks from senior Communist Party members for the way the Regions Party, a senior coalition partner, has been handling the appointment process.

The split widened to a point that Symonenko had requested the meeting with Yanukovych earlier this week to deliver the ultimatum, threatening to pull out from the coalition unless the appointments are made, the source said.

Beside the appointment of Kaletnik, the Communist Party has been also seeking its allies appointed as governors of three regions, including Vinnytsia, Sumy and Kherson regions.

The governors are appointed by the president after the government submits nominations.

Kaletnik, who lead the organized crime and corruption committee in Parliament, had won his sear on the ticket of the Communist Party.

“He is a specialist of the customs sector, a professional who knows your business well,” Fedir Yaroshenko, the finance minister, said Wednesday introducing Kaletnik to the staff of the Customs Service. “He’s got a strategy for the development of the service that agrees quite well with the country’s economic growth.”

Although Kaletnik is a member of the Communist Party, his connections with the Regions Party will probably also remain strong.

His father, Hryhoriy Kaletnik, a former governor of the Vinnytsia region, has won the lawmaker seat on the ticket of the Regions Party. (nr/ez)