Finance minister quits

KIEV, (AP):

Ukraine's finance minister yesterday quit his job, amid pressure over a blocked $15-billion International Monetary Fund loan, and the president appointed the head of the state security service and former economy minister, a long-time ally, to replace him.

Fedir Yaroshenko, 62, did not explain why he was resigning, saying in televised comments only that he hoped his successor would make few mistakes and work effectively. But analysts say the resignation hammers home Ukraine's tough economic position and suggests President Viktor Yanukovych is looking to deflect blame over economic hardships on to his

Cabinet ahead of parliamentary elections this fall.

Yanukovych appointed his long-time ally Valery Khoroshkovsky, a media magnate who had headed Ukraine's Security Service for the past two years. Khoroshkovsky also was the country's economy minister in Yanukovych's government in 2002-4.

Yanukovych did not explain his decision, but some observers said that Khoroshkovsky's loyalty to the president appeared to be a factor in the decision. Under Khoroshkovsky's leadership, the security service launched a slew of new criminal investigations against already jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a case the West has called politically motivated.