KIEV, April 15 – President Viktor Yushchenko on Wednesday praised the government for approving anti-crisis measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund, but asked his lawyers to check whether the move was legal.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday resorted to the controversial tactic of approving the measures by government resolutions after Parliament had rejected them, jeopardizing lending from the IMF.

Yushchenko’s reaction is crucial as the president has the power to stop any government resolution, while some Tymoshenko loyalists had alleged that Yushchenko might try to suspend the measures.

“I view this approach in an exceptionally positive way,” Yushchenko said commenting on the government’s move. But the measures themselves, he said, were “not ideal” for the economy.

Ukraine needs lending from the IMF to compensate for the collapse of the country’s exports revenue after demand for steel, the country’s main exports, had fallen sharply due to the international credit crunch.

The IMF, which approved $16.4 billion rescue package to Ukraine in November 2008, suspended the lending in January after the Tymoshenko government had refused to narrow budget deficit. The IMF will decide next month whether to resume the lending, this is why the support for the anti-crisis legislation has been seen by the government an important test.

Yushchenko also asked his lawyers to study whether the resolutions come in line with Ukrainian law. The president has the power to stop any government resolution.

The measures include cutting budget spending, narrowing budget deficit. The measures also increase social security taxes for small businesses to increase revenue at the state-run Pension Fund by and raise natural gas prices to boost revenue at state-owned Naftogaz Ukrayiny.

Tymoshenko failed to win support for the measures in Parliament, underscoring the fact that the government does not enjoy backing of the majority. Only 208 lawmakers backed the measures in the 450-seat Parliament.

Meanwhile, the opposition Regions Party attacked on the government on Wednesday for its failure to approve the measures in Parliament, and said their approval by government resolutions is an extremely controversial step.

“This is a proof of agony, hysteria, adventurism and open disregard for the constitution,” Mykola Azarov, a former finance minister and a senior member of the Regions Party, said. “These are non-sense decisions that will harm the economy.”

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said there was a possibility that the president would suspend the resolutions, but warned that the move would lead to a political standoff in Ukraine.

“This would lead to another wave of political standoff, or rather create a new line of political tensions,” Lytvyn said. (tl/ez)