President Paksas has denied any wrongdoing

They voted to delay the parliamentary hearings until the constitutional court ruled on whether the president violated the constitution.

The crisis began last autumn, when Mr Paksas' office was accused of having links with Russian criminal groups.

Mr Paksas has consistently denied the allegations and refused to resign.

This unprecedented legal action is likely to last several weeks.

The outcome is expected next month, just as the former Soviet republic prepares to join the European Union.

Court pressure fears

Supreme Court chairman Vytautas Greicius, who presided, said the decision had been taken with the consent of both sides.

Officials who prepared the proceedings said it would not be possible for two processes to run concurrently.

I hope that if MPs are guided by their personal positions and the search for justice and truth, then the impeachment will fail President Rolandas Paksas

""This would compromise the impartiality of the process," MP and acting prosecutor Rimantas Sukys told local media. "This might raise doubts at a later stage or be even viewed as pressure on the Constitutional Court."

The court is due to start hearings on 16 March and is expected to deliver a verdict three weeks later.

The controversy started in October, when the state security department accused the president and his advisers of having links to Russian organised crime.

A parliamentary commission claimed the president posed a threat to national security, leaked state secrets and let top aides abuse their office.

It was also ruled by Lithuania's constitutional court that the leader of this former Soviet republic violated the constitution by awarding citizenship to a controversial Russian businessman who was the main sponsor of Mr Paksas' election campaign.

President Paksas has continued to deny all the allegations and has refused to resign.

"I feel very good," he told the BBC, "given that there's been four months of scandal ... and that every day I hear my name in the media.