To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the first round of the presidential elections in the Ukraine; and whether he has assessed this as a free and fair campaign and vote.

I refer the hon. Member to the declaration on the conduct of the elections in Ukraine issued by the EU Presidency on 1 November, to the Conclusions issued by the European Council on 5 November and to the press statement I on 3 November.

In the Conclusions the European Council regretted that the first round of the presidential election did not meet international standards and called on the Ukrainian authorities "to address the noted deficiencies in lime before the second round of the elections and to create conditions allowing for free and fair elections, in particular by ensuring equal access to state media for both contenders,"

The full text of the Council's Conclusions and the EU Presidency's declaration are available on the Presidency's website at www.eu2004.nl and my press statement at www.fco.gov.uk.