 Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said on Monday he did not expect the "break-up" of Ukraine after the weekend election victory for opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. "Even though some of his followers have extremist views, Yushchenko will show wisdom and not allow a break-up," he told the Interfax news agency.
| Who gives a rip what he thinks? |
With more than 90 percent of voting precincts counted after Sunday's presidential runoff, West-leaning Yushchenko had a clear lead over his rival Viktor Yanukovich, who was backed by Russia. The vote has divided the former Soviet republic between its Ukrainian-speaking west, which backed Yushchenko, and the Russian-speaking east which largely supported Yanukovich. However Gorbachev, who led the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, said fears of the break-up of the country of 48 million people were unfounded and Kiev would continue to maintain strong ties with Moscow despite Yushchenko's Western outlook. |