New Ukraine Result Must Be Respected

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladamir Putin have agreed in a telephone conversation that the result of any rerun of the Ukrainian election must be respected. They both considered any further outside involvement in the elections following a rerun of the vote would be counterproductive, possibly leading to a division of the country. Outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said on Monday that he is prepared to hold new elections, just as the country's supreme court began a hearing on opposition candidate Viktor Yuschenko's charge that incumbent Viktor Yanukovich rigged the country's November 21 elections.