The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called for self-restraint in the power struggle between the prime minister and president of Ukraine.

"We...are hoping that the Ukrainian political forces, in the search for ways out of the political crisis, will show self-control, public wisdom and responsibility to their people," the Itar-Tass news agency cited anonymous diplomats from Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

Russia suggested that the concerned parties search for a compromise, in which Russia was "sincerely interested," the diplomats said.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree late Monday to dissolve the parliament and called early parliamentary elections on May 27. The decree came into force after it was published in the official gazette. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who is locked in a power struggle with the president, had urged him to hold back from publishing the decree.

The parliament banned the press from publishing Yushchenko's decree and appealed overnight for a ruling by the constitutional court on the legitimacy of the president's order.

Source: Xinhua