"If we are to speak in general terms, no agreement was reached and instead of a statement from the round-table talks, there was simply a statement for the press," Kuchma said in a statement.

Kuchma's statement came following round-table talks with opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. The talks were also attended by international mediators, including European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Russian parliament speaker Boris Gryzlov.

Earlier, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted a source as saying that the latest talks encountered difficulty "as Kuchma vehementlyinsisted on his demands." The hope for the success of the talks "is almost zero," the source said.

Kuchma has pledged to reshuffle the Central Election Commissionand support election law reform. He also called for a constitutional reform to limit the presidential powers.

All these can be done only after the opposition lifted the blockade of government buildings, said the Ukrainian president. The opposition, however, agreed to lift the blockade after the approval of electoral changes.

Opposition leader Yushchenko criticized the proposed constitutional reform, arguing that Kuchma and his allies, referring to Prime Minister Yanukovich, feared his possible victory in the new election and want to weaken the future presidency.

Meanwhile, Kuchma approved a leave for Yanukovych during his campaign prior to a new presidential runoff and named a caretaker in his place.

The outgoing president named First Deputy Prime Minister MykolaAzarov to replace Yanukovych while he is on leave of absence untilthe Dec. 26 new vote.

The opposition has demanded that Kuchma fire Yanukovich. Kuchma's approval means that Yanukovich would not be dismissed from his post until he returns from leave. Ukrainian law forbids dismissingpeople officially on holiday.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the results of the country's presidential runoff was invalid and ordered that a new vote be held on Dec. 26.

The court's decision has drawn different reactions from the United States and Russia, with Washington hailing it "an importantstep" to resolve the political crisis.

Both the United States and the European Union, backing Ukraine's opposition, have refused to accept the runoff result as legitimate, and called for an investigation of the "numerous and credible" reports of fraud and abuse in the election.

However, Russia, which supported President Kuchma and Prime Minister Yanukovich, was frustrated by the ruling.

Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday unanimously approved a resolution condemning what it described as "destructiveinterference" by some European organizations in the political crisis in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned against foreign interference in Ukraine and its political crisis, saying "one can play the role of a mediator but one must not meddle and apply pressure."

Yanukovich and Yuschenko, both presidential candidates, have been locked in a bitter battle for the country's top office since a Nov. 21 runoff.

Yanukovich, 53, gets most of his support from Ukraine's Russian-speaking industrial east. Yuschenko, 50, has his strongest backingfrom the country's west and the center.