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Europe cautiously pleased with Ukraine

BRUSSELS, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- European leaders expressed cautious optimism for the election process and results in Ukraine, which is still sharply divided between East and West.

The congratulations by the EU, Poland and Lithuania were issued Monday after the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded the elections -- a rerun of the fraud-tainted Nov. 21 balloting -- were fairer than previous polls.

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The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said Yushchenko's victory was a "good day for Ukraine and for democracy." He added it was "an important day for EU-Ukraine relations" and he hoped all sides would respect the outcome.

With 99.9 percent of votes counted Tuesday morning, pro-western opposition leader Vicktor Yushchenko had 52 percent compared to Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's 44 percent.

However, European enthusiasm was being tempered by the fact Yanukovych is refusing to accept the results as valid. Once the election commission releases the final preliminary results, the candidates have seven days to appeal.

There is also concern about the geopolitical divisions in Ukraine, where the heavily industrial east is loyal to Moscow, while the west favors pro-western reform, the International Herald Tribune said.

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