KIEV, Dec. 14 – Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, facing the prospect of running a minority government, on Friday pleaded with opposition groups for support in navigating the country through serious economic challenges next year.

But Batkivshchyna, the largest opposition group, said political prisoners, including former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, must be freed and controversial legislation cancelled before the parties can sit down for talks.

“Yesterday I have officially invited the opposition to the talks on crucial issues of the country’s development in a very challenging environment,” Azarov said at a press conference on Friday.

The talks will have to focus on which course should the government take in relations with the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and Russia-led Customs Union trade bloc.

The developments come amid widening disagreements within the government over economic and foreign policies with First Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy resigning on Friday.

Khoroshkovskiy accused Azarov of being “unable” to conduct economic reforms and to defend the country’s strategic course for European integration.

The calls for the talks with the opposition come a day after President Viktor Yanukovych had issued similar idea in conversation with Azarov and Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Rybak.

These calls are extremely unusual for Yanukovych, who has been showing elements of authoritarian rule since his election to the presidency in February 2010.

The developments underscore the Regions Party’s poor performance at recent parliamentary elections with his party, joined by loyalist independent lawmakers, controlling only 210 seats in the 450-seat Parliament. This falls short of 226 votes that are needed to approve any legislation in Ukraine.

Azarov’s approval as the prime minister on Thursday was supported by 252 lawmakers only after the Communist Party, which controls 33 seats, had joined the vote. The Communist later ruled out support for the government.

The government needs to carry out a number of economic reforms, including hiking domestic natural gas prices – a highly unpopular measure – to win resumption of lending from the IMF.

Responding to Azarov’s calls for unity, Batkivshchyna said any dialog with the government is impossible until the authorities stop political repression, release opposition leaders from jail and cancel controversial legislation approved over the past three years.

“Tradition of constant political dialog was broken by Yanukovych himself when the opposition leaders had been thrown behind bars,” Batkivshchyna said.

“Several simple steps are needed for the dialog to begin,” Batkivshchyan said. “Stop political repressions, free opposition leaders and cancel anti-people laws that had been approved in contradiction to constitution.”

“After these conditions are implemented, we are ready for the talks,” Batkivshchyna said.

The opposition group accused Yanukovych of leading the country to international isolation and to economic crisis.

“We are categorically against entering the Customs Union,” Batkivshcyna said. “We believe there is only one way – joining the European Union.”

Batkivshchyna said Ukraine needs to resume cooperation with the IMF as soon as possible and criticized the government for recent plans to re-negotiate hundreds of import duties with the WTO, the plans that had been criticized by Ukraine’s all major trade partners. (tl/ez)