U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that the United States cannot accept the official outcome of the Ukrainian presidential election, which has been plagued with accusations of fraud and abuse. "We cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse," Powell said in Washington. Ukraine's Central Election Commission earlier Wednesday declared pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich the winner of Sunday's controversial election, deciding against his opponent, West-leaning Viktor Yuschenko. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the elections, and Powell urged Ukrainian authorities to refrain from using violence to disperse the crowds. "We remind the Ukrainian authorities that they bear a special responsibility not to use or incite violence," Powell said. Powell said he spoke earlier Wednesday with Ukraine's current president, Leonid Kuchma, and called for an investigation into the vote. He also spoke with E.U. Commission Chairman Jose Manuel Barroso, High Representative Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. --More 2309 Local Time 2009 GMT
