Putin calls for 'pragmatism' in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, making his first public comments on the Ukrainian presidential election lost by the Kremlin-favoured candidate, said today he hoped the country would move from rhetoric to pragmatism.

The reproving tone of Putin’s remarks – made after a meeting with Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn at Putin’s residence outside Moscow - indicated continued Russian discomfort with Western-leaning opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.