"Another scenario for blocking the Verkhovna Rada's work is being implemented. There are no grounds for the Verkhovna Rada's dissolution in accordance with a ruling by the Constitutional Court," he said. "But these grounds could appear if the parliament does not work in a plenary regime for 30 days. This date falls on May 17," Lytvyn said.
The speaker described the Regions Party's demand to resign Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko as "far-fetched." At the parliament's conciliatory council on Tuesday, all factions agreed to consider this issue as soon as the necessary documents are submitted by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, due to an incident with the minister at Frankfurt Airport.
Lytvyn also said that one of the reasons for the parliament's blockage by the Regions Party is its reluctance to consider a bill banning the gambling business in Ukraine.
Apart from that, the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko's faction leader, Ivan Kyrylenko, said that his faction would not vote for Lutsenko's resignation. Moreover, Germany has not yet responded to a note sent by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in connection with an incident at Frankfurt Airport, he added.
Kyrylenko said that the Party of Regions is using the incident with Lutsenko to call early parliamentary elections in the country. "However, they will fail to realize this scenario," he added.
As a reminder, the Party of Regions blocked the parliament's rostrum on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko. The minister submitted a statement of resignation to the premier and parliament due to an incident at Frankfurt Airport. The minister said that the opposition and the Presidential Secretariat, by using a "minor" incident at the airport, had started persecuting him to "destabilize the situation at the Interior Ministry."
Lutsenko again said that he would bring a lawsuit against the Germany's tabloid newspaper Bild for misleading reports about the incident involving him and his son.
The Regions Party expressed doubt that a vote on Lutsenko's resignation would be fruitful. The party's deputy leader, Anna Herman, said that her faction would block the parliament's work until it is confident there are enough votes for the resignation of Lutsenko as Ukraine's interior minister.
