"I have never suggested holding presidential elections in parliament, never and nowhere. My position was, and remains, that Ukrainian parliamentary elections should be nationwide. But your decision was to elect the President in parliament," he told parliamentary deputies.

Earlier, a parliamentary majority and Communists suggested electing the head of state in parliament starting in 2006. On the upcoming elections, Mr. Kuchma noted: "Under no circumstances am I going to directly participate in the elections. My goal is to ensure that these elections are held in a transparent, democratic manner, without serious irregularities, so that we would show that we are going along the road of democracy."

The implementation of further political reforms in the country were also discussed at the meeting, which was attended by parliamentary leaders and Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. Mr. Kuchma said the constitutional reform was necessary for the creation of responsible authorities.

However, Sergey Margelov, head of the Mark Communication political consulting group, believes that Mr. Kuchma's stated intention not to seek another term is nothing else than a political game. "This can all be reversed," he told RBC.

But if the Ukrainian leader was serious about his plans not to participate in the elections, this will be a blow to Russian-Ukrainian relations. Russia would not benefit from a change in Ukrainian leadership, and it would affect Russia's interests in Ukraine. If Mr. Kuchma's statement was not "just words", the candidates for Ukrainian President would be officials from the presidential administration, Mr. Margelov believes. He said one of them could be Viktor Medvedchuk, chief of staff to President Kuchma. "Anyway, this will be a pro-Kuchma figure," he added.

On Monday, Mr. Kuchma told national television that he was not going to seek another term in office. He urged politicians to take this statement seriously. "Some politicians keep saying they don't trust me. It is not ruled out they will not believe me this time, too," the Ukrainian leader said. At the same time, he declined to name his possible successor.

Late last year, a group of parliamentary deputies asked the Constitutional Court of Ukraine whether the incumbent Ukrainian President could run in the presidential elections in 2004. According to the country's Constitution, one person cannot hold the presidential office for more than two terms. However, as Mr. Kuchma was elected Ukrainian President in 1994 (for the first time), before the Constitution was adopted, the Constitutional Court decided that this rule did not apply to Mr. Kuchma, and he was allowed to run for a third term.