New president for Ukraine

VIKTOR Yushchenko will be inaugurated Ukraine’s new president on Sunday, setting the stage for the transition to a new government following months of divisive political crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose praise for his opponent Viktor Yanukovych during the campaign raised criticism, congratulated Yushchenko, whose office announced he would visit Moscow just a day after the inauguration.

The timing suggests a desire to smooth relations with Ukraine’s economically critical neighbour even as he pushes for integration with Western Europe.

Yushchenko’s representative Irina Herashenko said the visit would be followed by a trip to Strasbourg to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and another to the European Parliament next Thursday.