US 'would welcome' Russian embrace of Ukraine election

The United States today offered a cautious response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that he would respect the result of Ukraine's weekend election.
"We would welcome an indication from Russia that they would accept the results of a free and fair and democratic election in Ukraine," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Carney's cautious language and choice of tense however indicated US skepticism over Putin's comments, after Washington has spent weeks condemning what it sees as Russia's deliberate destabilisation of Ukraine.
"Right now we are focused on Ukraine's efforts to carry out that election freely and fairly," Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Billionaire chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko is the favorite in Sunday's election, enjoying a near 30-point lead over former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, but opinion polls say the vote is likely to go to a run-off in June.
Putin, who has in the past given only grudging backing to the election, appeared to suggest he would accept the outcome of the vote.

"We understand that the people of Ukraine want their country to emerge from this crisis. We will treat their choice with respect," Putin said at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg.
Sunday's vote is seen as the most crucial since Ukraine's independence in 1991, with the country facing the threat of partition and teetering on the brink of economic collapse.

Western nations are particularly concerned about the credibility of the poll in eastern districts populated by pro-Russian separatists.