UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he has concerns about the tense situation in Ukraine following the run-off presidential election.
"While the United Nations is not in a position to comment on the conduct of the election, the secretary-general believes a credible electoral process is critical to overcoming the current impasse," Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, told reporters Wednesday at U.N. World Headquarters in New York.
The spokesman said Annan called on all sides to exercise "maximum restraint and to adhere to democratic principles, vital for the consolidation of democracy in Ukraine and the unity of the nation."
The United Nations had not sent electoral observers to Ukraine, Eckhard said, citing it as a reason for remaining neutral on the question of whether there should be a recount. He said the world organization was not in a position to judge the fairness of the balloting.
