http://www.maidan.org.ua/static/news/1101187142.html
Putin: Criticism of vote inadmissible without official results
Nov 23, 20:52
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Nov. 23 that criticism of the Ukrainian election by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is "inadmissible" because there are no official results.
"They should be more careful and responsible," Putin said of the OSCE which participated in the monitoring of the presidential vote.
OSCE observers said extensive indications of voting fraud were found in Ukraine's presidential election Nov. 21, including people apparently voting multiple times and voters being forced to turn over their absentee ballots to state employers.
"We cannot recognize or protest results that are not yet official," Putin told a news conference during an official visit to Lisbon, Portugal.
"Ukraine is a state of law. It doesn't need to be lectured," Putin said through an interpreter.
Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko claimed Nov. 23 that he won the country's election and called for international recognition.
Yushchenko and his supporters accused the authorities of rigging the Nov. 21 vote in favor of Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and announced a campaign of civil disobedience.
The OSCE determined there were "violations of the basic standards for free, fair and democratic elections" that have led to "justifiable doubts about the official results."
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Nov. 23 that Europe was closely watching the developments in Ukraine. He appealed for calm and urged an investigation of the results.
Putin also called for calm and respect for the law in Ukraine and defended his decision to congratulate Yanukovych after Sunday's ballot.
"It's true I congratulated a candidate, but not according to the official results - according to projections from exit polls," Putin said.
He questioned the credibility of the OSCE's observers in elections in Afghanistan last month and in Kosovo where it has monitored three elections since 1999, most recently a general election last month.
"As long as they keep having the same stance their credibility will be further undermined," Putin said of the observers.
"When you try to paint one candidate with Russian colors and another with western colors - that attitude belongs in the past. We cannot accept that the world be painted in two colors only and use that simple, good-and-evil view of the world. That will only help to further divide" Ukraine, Putin said.
The OSCE largely monitors human rights and elections across Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, but also has cooperation agreements with several Mediterranean and Asian countries.
Russia has been pushing for reform of the 55-nation OSCE since August, accusing it of double standards and saying it unfairly criticizes governments in some countries.
The watchdog body had said Russia's parliamentary elections last December and the presidential campaign that led to Putin's March re-election fell short of democratic standards.
The Russians are threatening Ukraine:
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=10723614
Moscow worried by reaction of Ukrainian radical opposition
MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Moscow is concerned about how the Ukrainian radical opposition has reacted to the outcome of the second round of the presidential elections in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday evening.
"The reaction of the Ukrainian radical opposition forces to the outcome of the voting and their public calls not to recognize and annul them causes perplexity and extreme concerns. It only deserves regret that these demands aimed at destabilizing the situation have not only been supported but also provoked by representatives of certain foreign countries, including those across the ocean, and international institutions," the Foreign Ministry said.
Ukraine is hearing "calls for antidemocratic and unlawful steps and disobedient actions," the Foreign Ministry said.
"The radicals in Ukraine and outside it should understand that fomenting tensions and calling for forceful actions can extremely heat up the situation and lead to grave consequences," the statement says.