KIEV -- Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday removed duties for oil product imports in a step aimed at easing the country's fuel crisis.

Ukraine has been hit by fuel shortages for the past three weeks, prompting lengthy queues at service stations and a 10 percent leap in fuel prices. The government has struggled to stabilize the market by freezing prices and banning exports.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has described the crisis as a "plot" by Russian oil companies, which control four of Ukraine's six refineries, and vowed quick action to restore order.

Russian firms say higher world oil prices are behind rising prices.

Oleg Salmin, the author of the law rescinding the duties for gasoline and fuel imports, said it represented a compromise between the government, oil importers and refineries.

"The law will help fill the market with oil products. It will also create a highly competitive market for oil products," Salmin told deputies.

A total of 310 members backed the motion in the 450-seat chamber. Eleven deputies voted against.

Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk said the government would still be able to meet its budget targets this year, despite scrapping the duties.

The government came to power on the back of Orange Revolution mass protests and faces a crucial test at a parliamentary election next year. It has significantly increased pensions and wages in the 2005 budget.