Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
pledged Tuesday that they would respect the result of any re-run of Ukraine's
presidential election, the German government said.
"The chancellor and the Russian president agreed that the result of a new
election taking place on the basis of the Ukrainian constitution and reflecting
the political will of the Ukrainian people, should be strictly respected,"
government spokesman Bela Anda said in statement here.
The pledge emerged from a telephone conversation between Putin and Schroeder
focussing on "the question of how to find a political solution, assuring
Ukraine's territorial integrity and both parties' ability to open dialog," the
statement said.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said he favors the staging of a
new election to resolve the political crisis triggered by the disputed Nov. 21
presidential vote.
