Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate manufacturer, claimed the Ukrainian presidency with an emphatic election victory on Sunday, taking on a fraught mission to quell pro-Russian rebels and steer his fragile nation closer to the West.
A veteran survivor of Ukraine's feuding political class who threw his weight and money behind the revolt that brought down his Moscow-backed predecessor three months ago, the burly 48-year-old won 55-percent in exit polls on a first round ballot marred by millions unable to vote in troubled eastern regions.
Results will not be announced until Monday, but runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko, on 13 percent, made clear she would concede, sparing the country a tense three weeks until a runoff round.
Preliminary results with almost 25 percent of votes counted gave Poroshenko 54.1 percent and former premier Tymoshenko 13.1.
Poroshenko, known as the "Chocolate King", has no time to lose to make good on pledges to end "war" with separatists in the Russian-speaking east, negotiate a stable new relationship with Moscow and rescue an economy sapped by months of chaos and 23 years of post-Soviet mismanagement and chronic corruption.
POSITIONS
Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the preliminary results in Ukraine's election showing Petro Poroshenko could win enough support to avert a run-off election, though she said that could only be confirmed when full results are in.
"We can only comment on the result when we have the final result of the election," Merkel said. "But if there is a decision for Mr. Poroshenko in the first round that would certainly be good news."
Merkel added she did not want to anticipate the results of the full count. Preliminary results show Poroshenko winning 53.7 percent of the vote and far ahead in a field of 21 candidates.
Merkel said she hoped that first step would lead to a constitutional process in Ukraine and parliamentary elections. She vowed Germany would help accompany that if desired and hoped the European Union can help resolve a gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine this week.
"The talks about gas prices (for Ukraine) are very important for us," said Merkel. "I hope it will be possible to get an agreement this week. It's very, very important."
In turn, the European Union said Sunday's successful presidential election in Ukraine was a major step towards reducing tensions between Kiev and Moscow, welcoming Russia's declaration that it would respect the results of the vote.
The EU said it expected Russia to use its leverage armed, pro-Russian separatists to further reduce tensions in Ukraine.
"The successful holding of these elections constitutes a major step towards the objective of de-escalating tensions and restoring security for all Ukrainians," the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council said.
"We welcome statements by the Russian Federation indicating that it will respect the will of the Ukrainian people and engage in a dialogue with the new Ukrainian President," Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement.
"We look forward to further concrete steps on this constructive path, including the use of leverage on armed groups to de-escalate the situation on the ground."
REUTERS