Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, one of the presidential candidates in the February run-off vote, has announced that she has offered her premiership to Sergey Tigipko, who polled third in Sunday’s first round.

"I proposed to Sergey Tigipko not only that we unite our programmes, our vision of Ukraine's development, not only to be his reliable partner in the difficult but rewarding work. I offered him the position of prime minister," Tymoshenko said on Wednesday.

Earlier, Tigipko had said he would support neither opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych nor Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, who will compete in the second round of presidential elections.

"I decided to adopt a neutral position. Allow them to lead a political battle among themselves," said the former president of the Central Bank Tigipko, who had received 13% of the votes in Sunday's election.

He said that he had held conversations with both Yanukovych and Timoshenko.

"There were specific suggestions, but my position has not changed," he said, given his promise not to support any of the favorites.

The first round of presidential elections in Ukraine was won by Yanukovych with 35% of the vote against 25% for Tymoshenko. Both candidates are trying to attract the votes of the other candidates, to secure victory in the ballot vote on February 7.

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