Ukraine crisis must be resolved in courts, says Putin

THE HAGUE - Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged a solution to Ukraine's election crisis through the courts, not the streets, and warned foreign powers against inciting chaos in the former Soviet state.

"We should not introduce in the practice of international life a means of addressing similar disputes through mayhem on the street," he said after a summit with European Union leaders.

Putin was speaking a day after Secretary of State Colin Powell declared he could not accept election results that made pro-Russian Premier Viktor Yanukovich president. He said if the government did not act immediately to investigate accusations of fraud there would be consequences for ties with Washington.

Ukraine has been in turmoil since Yanukovich was declared winner of a fiercely disputed presidential election over western-leaning liberal Viktor Yushchenko.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, will visit Ukraine on Friday for urgent talks with the main figures in the crisis.

Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach told Reuters he would meet President Leonid Kuchma, Yanukovich and Yushchenko to discuss "a negotiated diplomatic solution" to the dispute over the results of last Sunday's presidential run-off.

"All issues concerning the elections in Ukraine should be addressed within the framework of its constitution and legislation," Putin said. "All claims should go to the courts."

Ukraine's Supreme Court opened the way for a legal challenge on Thursday when it declined to publish, or formally endorse, the results. It said it would examine Yushchenko's accusations.

Yushchenko vowed on Thursday, the fourth day of mass street protests in Kiev and other cities, to fight to overturn the election result, and his opposition pressed ahead with plans for a national strike and to block highways.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, acknowledged differences between the EU and Russia on the election and how to defuse the crisis, but noted that both ultimately wanted the same thing.

"Both the EU and Russia are keen to see a stable, democratic country which is enjoying welfare," he said.

"The approach routes to reaching this particular issue differ between Russia and the EU but we do agree that a peaceful approach to the setting up of a legitimate government is essential," he added.

Putin echoed Solana when he stressed the importance of preserving the unity of Ukraine. Yushchenko's supporters are strongest in mainly Roman Catholic western Ukraine while Yanukovich's followers are mostly located in the predominantly Orthodox, Russian-speaking east.

Putin and Balkenende said they had made significant progress in redefining relations on the basis of four "common spaces" --the economy; freedom, security and justice; external security; and education and science.

At a news conference marked by cordiality and respect that have not always prevailed at past EU-Russia summits, the two leaders said they aimed for agreement on all areas by May.

But the courteous tone masked deep differences over the future of Ukraine and other ex-Soviet republics around their borders.

Following its eastward expansion in May, Brussels sees Ukraine, with Belarus, Moldova and the three Caucasus republics, as being in the "common neighborhood" of the EU and Russia, and wants to increase its role in all of them.

Moscow sees all six ex-Soviet republics as firmly within its sphere of influence. The Ukrainian election, pitting a pro-Russian against an opponent seeking closer ties with the EU, has crystallized these tensions.

Balkenende spoke to outgoing President Kuchma immediately after the meeting with Putin, a Dutch Foreign Ministry official said, and reiterated the EU's commitment to a peaceful end to the crisis.

- REUTERS