World is watching Ukraine - Bush

US President George Bush warned tonight that the world “is watching very closely” as Ukraine tries to sort out a disputed presidential election.

The United States and other Western nations contend that massive fraud marked the presidential election, and the Ukraine’s highest court has ordered election officials not to publish the results until an appeal is heard next week.

Bush, speaking to reporters in Crawford, Texas, said he hoped a clear and credible winner would emerge.

“There’s just a lot of allegations of vote fraud that placed the result of the election in doubt,” he said.

“The international community is watching very carefully,” the president said. “People are paying very close attention to this and, hopefully, it will be resolved in a way that brings credit and confidence to the Ukrainian government.”

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Colin Powell cited reports of fraud in the election in saying the United States cannot accept the results of presidential elections in Ukraine.

Powell said there would be consequences for US-Ukraine relations if the government there did not act “immediately and responsibly” to find a solution that respected the will of its people.

Powell spoke shortly after election officials in Kiev announced that the Russian-backed prime minister, Victor Yanukovych, had defeated a former prime minister, Viktor Yushchenko, in Sunday’s election.

“We cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse,” Powell said.

He called for a full review of the conduct of the election and the tabulation of election results.