Yushchenko: Rebuilding Ties With Russia Will Take Time
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) with outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma earlier this year
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28 December 2004 -- The apparent winner of Ukraine's repeat presidential election, Viktor Yushchenko, told the Russian daily "Izvestiya" that it will take time to rebuild Ukrainian-Russian relations following his country's bruising election crisis.
Yushchenko said many Ukrainians will not quickly forget what he described as
Moscow's interference in the election on behalf of Yushchenko's rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Yushchenko said that his first trip as president will nevertheless be to Moscow. He also pledged to end hostility between Ukraine's western region and the mainly Russian-speaking eastern region.
Meanwhile, his rival Yanukovych told "Izvestiya" that the United States made what he called concerted efforts to ensure the victory of Yushchenko.
The preliminary vote count from the 26 December balloting gave Yushchenko 52 percent compared to Yanukovych's 44 percent with 99.9 percent of precincts counted by this morning.
Yanukovych has refused to concede defeat and
vowed to appeal. An earlier election in late November -- which according to discredited official results Yanukovych won -- was
annulled by the Supreme Court on 1 December.
(AP/AFP/dpa)
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