Related Event: Ukrainian Political Crisis 

Europe's top diplomats have welcomed the victory of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in Ukraine's repeat presidential election but were also quick to call for unity in a country whose voters are divided along geographical lines.

Cautious congratulations were issued by the EU, Poland and Lithuania after the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded that the elections were fairer than previous polls.

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

Poland's deputy foreign minister Jan Truszczynski expressed pleasure that there were no suggestions of fraud and that the proceedings complied with international standards.

Lithuania's foreign minister, Antanas Valionis, told a press conference that the outcome "could become a significant turning point in the internal life of the state and in its foreign policy."

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