At a meeting with the envoys on Wednesday, Yushchenko said he had drafted and submitted to parliament "a national anti-crisis plan" and disclosed solutions to extricate the country from the current political deadlock. All presidential proposals envisage Tymoshenko's dismissal, the paper said.
The president said the current government is "illegitimate" due to its failure to reform the Cabinet when establishing a parliamentary coalition in the fall of 2008.
"The conflict that emerged in parliament is connected with the non-observance of fundamental constitutional rules. The opposition considers this a gross violation of the constitution, and has therefore decided to block the rostrum," the paper quoted Yushchenko as saying.
Ukraine's opposition Party of Regions has been blocking legislative work, accusing the authorities of being unable to cope with the economic crisis.
Party activists took to the streets of Kiev last Friday to protest against the government's failed economic policies.
Ukraine has been hard hit by the global economic crisis, and has seen unemployment double, the economy shrink by at least 25% in the first two months of 2009 alone, and a collapse in demand for the country's main exports, steel and chemicals. The national currency, the hryvnia, has lost around 40% of its value.
The long-running saga of political wrangling between former allies Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, who are both expected to run for president later this year, has compounded the situation.
Yushchenko has suggested that the governing coalition "mobilize and file a list of 226 lawmakers to resolve the issue of legitimacy," but that "parliament would then have to consider the candidacy of another premier."
The president also said that the coalition, comprising the Tymoshenko bloc, the pro-presidential Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense, and the Lytvyn bloc led by parliamentary chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn, could link forces with the Communists or the Party of Regions.
Tymoshenko said her government would continue its work despite interference from Yushchenko.
"Despite all political aspects and wrangling, the government is working and will continue to work for a time ahead," the UNIAN news agency quoted the premier as saying on Thursday.
