Ukraine`s President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday vetoed a parliament-approved list of businesses to be privatized next year, a move reflecting the growing tension between the president and the governing coalition, according to Interactive Investor.
Lawmakers earlier this month approved a list of more than 1,000 companies to be auctioned off, giving a green light to the long-awaited privatization of the country`s largest telecommunications company, Ukrtelecom.
However, Yushchenko said in a statement Thursday that it was not up to lawmakers, but to the government, to select companies to be privatized.
He said that according to Ukrainian law, parliament could identify enterprises that are not subject to privatization, but could not decide which companies are up for sale.
Yushchenko shares power with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician who won this year`s parliamentary election and formed the governing coalition and the Cabinet.
The two have frequently clashed over foreign policy, Cabinet appointments and other government business.
