Leader of the Batkivschyna parliamentary faction Arseniy Yatseniuk has said he is ready to head the government of Ukraine, but only if the Cabinet of Ministers is formed of opposition representatives and if the Constitution of 2004 is brought back in force.

"We're ready to take responsibility for the country. We're ready to head the government, if all the positions in the government are occupied by opposition representatives. During these very troubled times for my country, [with it] being in a grip of economic recession... we're sure the opposition will manage to lead the country and build bridges in times of discord. It's very risky. However, we're not talking about my political future, but about my future of my country. I'm ready to lose popularity to save the country," Yatseniuk said in an interview with Deutsche Welle on Wednesday.

Asked whether he was willing to take this step if a new Constitution is adopted he said: "We're ready to do it on the basis of the new-old Constitution of 2004. If the government is formed in parliament, we need to have guarantees that it won't be appointed for three months or three weeks. This government needs an opportunity to make some real changes."

The politician also announced the plans of the opposition under the current conditions: "We have a short- and a long-term plan. The long-term plan foresees the preparation of a new Constitution draft and its adoption by September. Our short-term prospective is to achieve the return to the Constitution of 2004 as a temporary decision until we adopt a new Constitution. The transition to a parliamentary-presidential republic is ahead of us. Under these conditions a new government must be formed to take responsibility and be ready to manage the country in these difficult times."

At the same time, Yatseniuk said, "President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych isn't ready to abandon his limitless power."

As reported earlier, Yanukovych offered the position of prime minister to Yatseniuk, and the position of deputy prime minister for humanitarian issues to Vitali Klitschko. Then Yatseniuk said that the opposition neither accepted, nor denied that offer. On January 27, Klitschko said that he didn't see himself in the new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

On January 28, Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov resigned. At the same day the president accepted the resignation and entrusted the Cabinet of Ministers to keep working until the beginning of the work of a newly formed government.