Ukraine opposition refuses to negotiate
The central election commission said it would announce the final results of the weekend poll later in the day, a vote the opposition claims was stolen by the state in favour of the country's pro-Russia prime minister.
"I want to tell you that we will not hold negotiations with (Prime Minister Viktor) Yanukovich and the people who surround him," announced Mykola Tomenko, a close aide to pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. He spoke as thousands of Yushchenko supporters set up tents outside Kiev's presidential administration awaiting a possible showdown with President Leonid Kuchma, who has hand-picked Yanukovich as his successor.
Yanukovich was quoted by ITAR-TASS as telling a cabinet meeting that he was "a law-abiding man" who would only recognize defeat if he looses the official vote count.
An election commission spokeswoman said official results would be announced at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT), adding: "Anything can happen."
The latest results, with 99.48 percent of polling stations reporting, showed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich taking 49.39 percent of the vote, compared to 46.71 percent of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.
However, in the face of mass street protests and widespread international condemnation of the poll, even Yanukovich's main international backer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, backtracked Tuesday from his initial recognition of his win.
The crisis has put Russia at loggerheads with Europe and the United States as Moscow tries to keep control over the largest republic to have splintered off from Russia during the Soviet Union's collapse.
The opposition sees this as perhaps its best chance in a generation to pull Ukraine out of Russia's grasp and into European Union and Nato alliances.
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