Visiting Albright Backs Ukrainian Leader in Dispute With Parliament

President Leonid D. Kuchma secured a high-profile endorsement from U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday ahead of his bid to win extended powers at the expense of the Ukrainian parliament in a weekend referendum.

Albright told reporters as she arrived for a one-day visit that Kuchma’s reelection last November offered hope to the nation.

“Ukraine . . . has gone through some ups and downs, but I believe at this stage that after this election of President Kuchma, there is momentum for reform,” she said.

Kuchma expressed confidence that four questions to be put to voters Sunday will win public support.

A change in Albright’s schedule bringing her to Kiev, the capital, focused attention on the referendum, which Kuchma says is vital to pass laws to speed up reforms.

Kuchma has been at odds with the parliament since his first election in 1994, and he blames lawmakers for failing to proceed more quickly with reforms and efforts to eliminate mass poverty.

Voters will be asked if they favor cutting the number of deputies, adding a second chamber, scrapping members’ immunity from prosecution and empowering the president to dismiss the assembly if it fails to pass the budget or form a majority.