Lenihan to attend inauguration of new Ukrainian President

The Government has announced that Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Conor Lenihan will attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko this Sunday.

Mr Yuschenko is due to be officially sworn in after the country's Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the recent presidential election results lodged by the losing candidate, Viktor Yanukovych.

Mr Lenihan said today that the Government was looking forward to strengthening its relationship with Ukraine under Mr Yuschenko's rule.

The opposition candidate has adopted a pro-Western stance and has vowed to seek EU membership for his country.