ALLIES OF UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT, TRYING TO REBUILD THE COALITION BEHIND THE "ORANGE REVOLUTION", DUG IN THEIR HEELS ON WEDNESDAY BY DENYING ESTRANGED ALLY YULIA TYMOSHENKO A FREE HAND TO TAKE BACK HER JOB AS PRIME MINISTER, REUTERS REPORTED. PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, PROPELLED TO POWER BY THE 2004 PROTESTS AGAINST ELECTION FRAUD, FIRED TYMOSHENKO LAST YEAR. HE HAS REFUSED TO ENDORSE HER CALLS TO GET HER JOB BACK ON THE BASIS OF A STRONG SHOWING IN LAST MONTH'S ELECTION. "ORANGE" PARTIES WON ENOUGH SEATS TO FORM A GOVERNMENT IN A PARLIAMENT NEWLY EMPOWERED TO NAME THE PRIME MINISTER -- BUT PROGRESS IN CLINCHING A DEAL HAS STUMBLED ON WHO WILL HEAD IT. CURRENT PRIME MINISTER YURI YEKHANUROV SAID THERE WAS NO PLACE FOR AMBITION IN TALKS NOW IN THEIR FOURTH WEEK. "TALKS MUST PROCEED BASED ON MATTERS LIKE STRATEGY AND A PROGRAMME. BUT THIS CANNOT BE A PROGRAMME OF PERSONAL INTERESTS EVEN IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT VERY WORTHY PEOPLE," YEKHANUROV, WHO LED YUSHCHENKO'S OUR UKRAINE PARTY IN THE ELECTION, TOLD A CABINET MEETING. "THE TIME OF KINGS AND PRINCESSES IS LONG GONE IN UKRAINE." THAT WAS A CLEAR REFERENCE TO TYMOSHENKO, KNOWN AS THE "GAS PRINCESS" IN THE 1990S WHEN SHE HEADED A GAS TRADING COMPANY. TALKS ARE BLOCKED BECAUSE OF THE PRESIDENT'S MISTRUST OF TYMOSHENKO, ANALYSTS SAY. ON TUESDAY, HE REJECTED HER CALL FOR DIRECT TALKS AS "BLACKMAIL OR ULTIMATUMS". --MORE 2352 Local Time 2052 GMT
