| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Opposition demands new Ukraine vote |
| 2004-11-27 |
| By Natalia A. Feduschak THE WASHINGTON TIMES Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko yesterday demanded a new presidential election be held after a face-to-face meeting with rival Viktor Yanukovych failed to resolve Ukraine's bitter weeklong political standoff. Turning up the heat on the government-backed Mr. Yanukovych, Mr. Yushchenko told cheering supporters after the nearly three-hour meeting he opposed a proposal to refer charges of massive fraud in Sunday's election to the Supreme Court. "We will only hold talks on staging a new vote," Mr. Yushchenko said. Moments earlier, outgoing President Leonid Kuchma announced he would preside over a working group, including key European envoys who have converged on Kiev, to seek a solution to the crisis and head off growing fears of violence. Massive streets protests and charges of fraud in the Nov. 21 vote have roiled this strategically placed country, the largest state to break from Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and put Moscow and Washington on a collision course over Ukraine's future. |
| Posted by:Fred |