KIEV, Dec. 19 – President Viktor Yushchenko announced plans to hold talks with other presidential candidates sharing a pro-Western platform in order to secure their support as he seeks re-election next month.

The talks may take two weeks and will probably target former Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatseniuk, former Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, People’s party leader Yuriy Kostenko and nationalist leader Oleh Tiahnybok.

“I think that with the help of God [the talks will end] by Christmas,” Yushchenko said at a rally in Vinnytsia referring to the Orthodox Christmas that will be celebrated on January 7, 2010. “These talks should not start too soon because it’s clear that everyone has his own tasks, parties and ways.”

Yushchenko’s re-election strategy is to come ahead of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the first round of voting on January 17, 2010, to secure a runoff with opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych - currently the frontrunner in opinion polls - on February 7.

A group of major Ukrainian right-wing and nationalist parties at a meeting on Saturday urged Yatseniuk, Tiahnybok, and Kostenko to rally behind Yushchenko at the upcoming election.

Although Yushchenko managed to increase his popular support over the past two months, he has been still trailing behind his main rivals - Yanukovych and Tymoshenko.

The president has been recently attacking the prime minister for her “ineffective” management of the economy and the state budget by increasingly relying on borrowing from the International Monetary Fund without conducting proper economic reforms.

Yushchenko, a dedicated pro—Westerner, also said that both, Tymoshenko and Yanukovych, are running on platforms that seek closer cooperation with Russia as opposed to the European Union.

“I will be the president,” Yushchenko said at a rally on Sunday. “Any other way suggested by either Yanukovych or by Tymoshenko is a way to nowhere.”

Tymoshenko said the plans to rally support behind Yushchenko would probably fail.

“All these unifications and consolidations will not help them because they are doing the wrong cause for the country, for each of you,” Tymoshenko told a meeting in the Chernihiv region.

Yanukovych enjoyed support from 26.3% of respondents in December, down from 27.3% in November, and is followed by Tymoshenko, who has increased support to 18.8% from 17.6%, according to the poll by TNS survey agency.

Yushchenko rose to 4.2% in December from 3.8% in November, the poll suggested.

Yatseniuk dropped to 4.1% from 4.6%, while Hrytsenko rose to 1.2% from 0.7% and Tiahnybok increased to 1.1% from 0.9%, according to the poll. Kostenko enjoys support of less than 0.3%.

Serhiy Tyhypko, a former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, had the most dramatic increase in popular support over the past 30 days rising to 5.6% in December from 3% in November, according to TNS.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, a centrist, increased to 3.1% from 2.9%, wile Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko dropped to 2.3% from 2.4%, according to the poll.

Almost 19% of respondents were undecided in December, while 8.8% did not support any of the candidates and 6.1% said they would ignore the election.

In the runoff, Yanukovych would defeat Tymoshenko 34.5% vs. 29.9%, according to the poll. (tl/ez)