Ukrainian PM wants constitutional change

By Ron Popeski

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, describing herself as "Ukraine's biggest nationalist", on Thursday called for an overhaul of the constitution to end "chaos" in the way the country was run.

Interviewed by Reuters on a visit to Japan, Tymoshenko also dismissed any suggestion that Ukraine would fail to meet its foreign debt obligations to the letter.

A loan programme with the International Monetary Fund, she said, would soon be back on track to enable Ukraine to withstand the world financial crisis.

With a presidential election set for early 2010, Tymoshenko remains one of Ukraine's most popular politicians, after breaking with President Viktor Yushchenko. Allies in the 2004 pro-Western "Orange Revolution", they now disagree on nearly all issues.

Twice appointed prime minister by Yushchenko, she said Ukraine's constitution needed further change to end arguments over the division of powers. That could mean new reductions of presidential powers, as occurred during the "orange" upheavals.

"I believe a presidential system with a logical set of responsibilities is good, responsibilities to civil society," she said.

Alternatively, she said, there should be a parliamentary system built on a set of checks and balances, with the aim of having a strong branch of authority. "The main thing is to have logic in the system of running the country and not chaos," she said.

Presidential powers have been trimmed in Ukraine since the Orange revolution and the president has lesser sway now over the appointment of key ministers.