KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's parliament speaker on Saturday called for declaring the presidential vote invalid, while supporters of the two men who have claimed victory were expected to hold talks in a bid to resolve the dispute that has divided the nation.

Addressing a special session of parliament called to discuss the escalating crisis, speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn suggested lawmakers take a political - not legal - decision to declare last Sunday's presidential runoff vote invalid.

"The most realistic political decision, taking into account the mutual claims of massive violations, is to pronounce the elections invalid," said Lytvyn, who has tried to maintain independence in the current presidential struggle.

A parliamentary decision to invalidate the results would not be binding without the endorsement of President Leonid Kuchma, and it was unclear whether lawmakers would vote on the issue.

Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that new elections were the "ideal outcome" of the standoff between Western-leaning opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko and his Russian-backed rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Bot said the Ukrainian parliament would need to pass a new law enabling the country's president to call new elections.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner of the election but cannot be inaugurated pending the hearing of an appeal to the Supreme Court, filed by supporters of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, to set aside the results. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the appeal Monday, while regional courts are considering some 11,000 complaints - from both sides - about alleged voting fraud.

Outside the parliament building, more than 7,000 opposition protesters encircled the building, chanting "Yushchenko!" Police stood near the building's entrances and watched.

Pro-Yushchenko lawmakers were also expected to call for a vote of no-confidence in the Central Election Commission. However, they lack the majority needed to pass the measure in the 450-seat body without winning the support of some nonaligned parties.

Meanwhile, the prospects for success in the talks planned for Saturday appeared slim, with Western-leaning Yushchenko telling a cheering crowd that he was insisting on a new election and that he would give the talks with his Russian-backed rival two days at most to yield results.

Kuchma, the outgoing president, presided at a meeting Friday with the two rivals and a delegation of European envoys. Kuchma later said a working group had been established to find a solution to the crisis.

Yanukovych aide Stepan Havrysh, who was to participate on behalf of the prime minister, said he thought it might be possible to reach an agreement within two days.

Yushchenko told his supporters that he would insist on a repeat election on Dec. 12. He also demanded that the membership of the Central Election Commission be changed, absentee balloting be prohibited, the candidates be given equal access to the media and that international observers participate.