KIEV, January 30 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's foreign minister, a key presidential ally who has actively promoted pro-Western policy goals during his time in office, said Tuesday his resignation has been accepted.
"The president has accepted my resignation," Borys Tarasyuk said after a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko.
Ukraine's parliament, in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych leads a 246-strong majority coalition, voted in early December to sack Tarasyuk, at the pro-Russian premier's request.
The power struggle between the president and Yanukovych, who he defeated two years ago in presidential polls but was forced to appoint as premier last August, has intensified recently, with parliament's sacking of president-appointed ministers.
On January 1, 2006, Ukraine shifted from a presidential-parliamentary to a parliamentary-presidential form of governance, after amendments adopted by the Supreme Rada in December 2004 came into force. As a result, some presidential powers were transferred to the country's parliament and to the Cabinet.
