KIEV, April 11. /TASS/. Speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Vladimir Groisman has refused to be prime minister, a lawmaker with the pro-presidential Petro Poroshenko Bloc said on Monday.

"Parliament speaker Vladimir Groisman has turned down the position of prime minister after talks with President Petro Poroshenko and acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. They failed to reach agreement on candidates for ministerial portfolios," Mustafa Nayem wrote on his Facebook account.

Earlier on Monday, another lawmaker with the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Alexei Goncharenko, said "the factions of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People’s Front and candidate for prime minister Vladimir Groisman have different views on the future government." He said negotiations will be continued in the morning.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Sunday he is stepping down as Ukraine’s prime minister. Resignation papers have been referred to the Verkhovna Rada. His resignation has offered a chance to set up a new coalition in the parliament and form a new government.

Following Yatsenyuk’s statement, President Petro Poroshenko said he is ready for any prime minister but would prefer to see Vladimir Groisman, the current speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in the premier’s office, who will need to receive at least 226 votes in the parliament to be approved as prime minister.