Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko (L) and Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich shake hands after the second round of talks in Kiev to resolve the Ukrainian election crisis. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

The mediation talks on resolving the Ukraine election runoff agreed on Wednesday evening to set up a joint expert group to explore approaches to end the election crisis.

In a statement issued after the talks, Ukraine Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko agreed to set up an emergency expert team consisting of professional lawyers.

The group would find ways as soon as possible to resolve the presidential runoff which has lasted 10 days.

Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma said at the press conference after the talks that the opposition camp agreed to end the blockage of presidential and governmental buildings, which resumedon Wednesday.

All sides share the view that it is not allowed to resort to force in resolving the standoff, said Kuchma.

The outgoing president said all sides made a consensus on amending the current laws on presidential elections.

George Butsan, a professor on international relations from the National Technical University of Ukraine, told Xinhua that the mediation merely soothed the situation, "the key is still lying onthe Supreme Court," whose ruling will decisively changed the runoff.

Yanukovich and Yushchenko joined European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Alas Adams, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Jan Kubis and Russian parliament speaker Boris Gryzlov to hold the talks on Wednesday.

This is the second round of mediation talks after the standoff emerged on Nov. 21. The first one was held on Nov. 26, but the opposition pulled out of the talks on Tuesday.

After the talks, Yushchenko told his supporters that he proposed to arrange a new runoff vote between him and Yanukovich on Dec. 19, local media reported.

He said he would not accept an entire new election, which was proposed earlier Wednesday by Kuchma, a plan which might weaken Yushchenko in the race.

The opposition leaders also urged his support to protest on thestreets until a new vote for the second round is arranged. Enditem

Rivals resume talks over Ukraine's election standoff

KIEV, Dec. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Ukraine's two presidential rivals on Wednesday resumed talks to break the standoff triggered by the Nov.21 presidential run-off.

The pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and his West-leaning rival Viktor Yushchenko sat down for talks at the presidential palace in the presence of European mediators and outgoing President Leonid Kuchma.

The move came after Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Council, passed a motion of no confidence in Yanukovich's government, forcing President Kuchma to dismiss Yanukovich and appoint a caretaker government.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski were holding talks on Wednesday with the two camps to help mediate in the election standoff.

The opposition camp said on Tuesday that it had broken off talks with the government since Nov. 21, when the polls handed victory to Yanukovich and sparked opposition accusations of vote rigging.

Yanukovich's inauguration as president cannot proceed until theSupreme Court rules on an opposition demand that the election results should be invalidated.