Rada speaker outlines his view of political crisis in Ukraine.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

The political crisis in Ukraine is weakening the country and bleeding it dry, and relations with Russia need improvement, believes the head of Ukrainian parliament. Ukraine should finally decide where its national interests are and carry our a relevant policy, Volodymyr Lytvyn has said in an interview with Russian television. He said this policy should be a "policy of opportunities and not a policy of aggression". The following is the text of his interview with Russian Channel One TV on 18 September; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

[Presenter] All three fundamental issues of young Ukrainian statehood: impeachment of the president, political reform and approval of the new prime minister will be resolved in one place, the Supreme Rada, or Council, Ukraine's parliament. We discussed how these issues may be resolved with its chairman, Volodymyr Lytvyn.

[Interviewer] Vladimir Mikhaylovich [Volodymyr Lytvyn], the Rada has already played a serious role in the history of Ukraine, and now again it is becoming a point of reference for those in power. What is your view of the political situation in Ukraine at present?

[Lytvyn] I'd say we have a government crisis caused by the resignation of the government, a political crisis, …