European Parliament president greets Ukraine on conducting free and fair presidential election

11:17

President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek has congratulated Ukrainians on conducting free and fair presidential elections.

He said this while opening the plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday.

Quoting the monitors of the European Parliament who observed the elections, Buzek said that despite a certain number of complaints and irregularities in the elections process, the majority of the election proceedings met democratic procedures and methods.

"This is a great success for the whole of Ukraine. Despite the political instability in recent years, we can see that there is a solid democratic foundation in Ukraine," he said.

"We recall that five years ago, the situation was the opposite. Today, we wish for the democratically and peacefully elected President of Ukraine to act for the sake of the country. We also want to have the best possible relations with Ukraine," Buzek said.

He has called on all the political forces of Ukraine to overcome divisions and to start cooperation on issues such as social and economic reforms, reform of the judiciary and constitutional reforms, and last but not least to continue the European agenda.

On Wednesday, there will be a debate in the European Parliament on the elections in Ukraine. MEPs will also listen to the reports from head of the European Parliament's election observation mission Pawel Kowal.

09.02.2010