Viktor Yanukovych, the front-runner in Ukraine's presidential election, on Monday rejected televised debates with his closest opponent, the Interfax news agency reported.
A public face-off between Yanukovych, a former prime minister, and his nearest rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, would be "useless," said Anna German, a Yanukovych spokeswoman, DPA reported.
Yanukovych holds a strong edge over Tymoshenko ahead of the January 17 poll, with 42 per cent of Ukrainan support compared with 31 per cent for Tymoshenko, according to an early January public opinion survey by the Kiev International Institute for Sociology (KIIS).
"He (Yanukovych) is ready to compete with Tymoshenko - in good works for the people ... not in pretty speeches ... and promises," German said.
Tymoshenko on Saturday challenged Yanukovych to four televised debates, two to be aired by a television channel supporting her, and two by a channel loyal to Yanukovych.
Yanukovych and Tymoshenko are widely expected to capture the top two positions in Ukraine's election, which currently offers voters a slate of 18 presidential candidates.
Neither is likely to obtain a necessary 50 per cent popular support, making highly probable a second round run off between the two in the latter half of February, according to pollsters.
Tymoshenko in recent weeks has struggled to close a widening popularity gap with Yanukovych, in campaign speeches calling Yanukovych "a criminal," and promising a dramatic Ukrainian economic upturn if she is elected president.
German labeled Tymoshenko's predictions of falling unemployment and a strengthening national currency as "empty promises."
Ukrainians see the pro-Russia Yanukovych as the best able of all candidates to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and reduce inflation - all top priority issues to probable voters, according to the KIIS survey.
Yanukovych controversially has promised to legalise the use of the Russian language along with Ukrainian for business and schools, reversing a Tymoshenko policy of allowing only the use of Ukrainian.
Granting the Russian language full legal status in Ukraine would allow Ukraine's large ethnic Russian minority equal access along with ethnic Ukrainians to the country's legal system and education, Yanukovych has argued in campaign speeches.
Allowing Russian equal status with Ukrainian is a concession to the Kremlin and would undermine Ukrainian national sovereignty, Tymoshenko has said.