A battle of power between Ukraine's president and its prime minister grew sharper Thursday with both men refusing to back down over a new election and threatening each other with prosecution.

President Viktor Yushchenko has issued a decree to dissolve parliament and stage a new election in what is seen as a final bid to reassert his authority. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich has refused to take part in the poll.

"I stress one more time that it is obligatory to implement the decree of Ukraine's president. Any refusal to implement it will result in criminal proceedings," Yushchenko told a meeting of Ukraine's Security Council Thursday, where he sat next to Yanukovich.

"I will not take a single step towards rescinding the decree."

Yanukovich responded by saying Ukraine should wait for the Constitutional Court to rule on whether parliament's dissolution was legal. A ruling is expected to take more than a month.

"We reject any form of early elections," Yanukovich told a news conference after the meeting.

He urged the president to start talks and asked Austria to mediate to help resolve the crisis. Polish President Lech Kaczynski offered his services as a mediator - a role his predecessor performed during the 2004 revolution.

"If the decree is unconstitutional, then the heads of law enforcement agencies... should get involved to look into how the situation got to this point and who started it," Yanukovich said.

(China Daily via agencies April 6, 2007)