Kuchma accused Yushchenko of prolonging Ukrainian electoral crisis

Every day brings an additional twist to the already complex story of Ukraine's presidential saga. Friday's decision of the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/cis/2002/10/22/38499.html ' target=_blank>Supreme Court to invalidate the election because of widespread fraud and order a repeat election marked the most important moment for Ukraine's judiciary since 1991.

That the judges successfully navigated their way through uncharted legal territory under immense pressure from both sides of the political divide, and under an international spotlight, is an immense achievement and bodes well for the future.

The key role played by the judiciary in resolving an acute political crisis is unprecedented in the region and sets Ukraine apart from &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/12/10/40652.html ' target=_blank>Serbia and Georgia, two cases of regime change often referred to in comparison to Ukraine's 'orange revolution'. In both the other cases elections played a key role in the regime change, informs The Guardian.

According to the Xinhua News, &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/cis/2002/05/27/29324.html ' target=_blank>Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma had a meeting on Monday evening with Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, both acting as mediators in the negotiations between Ukrainian authorities and oppositionists on settling the political turmoil in Ukraine, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The sides agreed that solutions to the crisis must be sought in the decisions of previous roundtable conferences and that those decisions must be honored, Kuchma's press service said.