Russia to accept outcome of Ukraine vote
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia will recognize the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential vote this weekend but voiced hope that Ukraine would halt its military operation against pro-Russians in the east.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s leader urged all voters to take part in the crucial ballot to “cement the foundation of our nation” but pro-Russia insurgents still battled government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking at an investment forum in St Petersburg, Putin said Russia will “respect the choice of the Ukrainian people” and will work with the new leadership. He said Russia wants peace and order to be restored in its neighbor.
Earlier, Putin blamed the West for encouraging a coup in Ukraine when the nation’s pro-Russian president was chased from power and for plunging the country into what he described as “chaos and a full-scale civil war.”
Authorities in Kiev had hoped that a new president would unify the divided nation, where the west looks toward Europe and the east has strong traditional ties to Russia. But they have now acknowledged it will be impossible to hold the vote in some areas in the east, especially in Donetsk and Luhansk, where insurgents have declared independence and pledged to derail the vote. Election workers and activists say gunmen there have threatened them and seized their voting materials.
Joao Soares, coordinator for an observation mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said yesterday that he expects problems with voting in “less than 20 percent of the polling stations.”
Twenty-one candidates are competing tomorrow to become Ukraine’s next leader. Polls show billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko with a commanding lead but falling short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round; his nearest challenger is Yulia Tymoshenko, the divisive former prime minister, who is trailing by a significant margin.
If no one wins in the first round, a runoff will be held on June 15. Most polls predict Poroshenko’s victory in that contest.
At a security conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the West to reach a settlement based on mutual interests.
“If we sincerely want to help the Ukrainian people overcome this crisis, it’s necessary to abandon the notorious zero-sum games, stop encouraging xenophobic and neo-Nazi sentiments and get rid of dangerous megalomania,” Lavrov said.
Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern Crimea Peninsula in March, triggering the worst crisis in relations with the West since the Cold War.
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