France, Russia urge 'free and fair' elections in Ukraine

PARIS, Dec 9 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac and visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on Thursday agreed that Ukraine's upcoming presidential elections must be "free and fair", a spokesman for Chirac's office said. Chirac and Fradkov "stressed the importance of guaranteeing a free and fair election process that respects the will of the Ukrainian people," said spokesman Jerome Bonnafont.

The meeting came as NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hailed an agreement with Russia to back free elections in Ukraine, saying it was a "major breakthrough" and denying an East-West conflict over the former Soviet republic.

Ukraine's parliament passed a controversial plan to weaken the presidency Wednesday, breaking a tense standoff between outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and the opposition and smoothing the way for the new presidential vote on December 26.

The vote by parliament was hailed in Ukraine and abroad as a breakthrough in the political crisis that has split the strategic nation in two polarized camps and sparked a Cold War-like conflict between Russia and the West.

NATO and Russia earlier Thursday also issued a joint call for free and fair elections in Ukraine, in what NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hailed as "a major breakthrough" in defusing tensions.

Fradkov, who met with Chirac for one hour, is to take part in a Franco-Russian government meeting Friday.