Yushchenko said that his first trip as president will nevertheless be to Moscow. He also pledged to end hostility between Ukraine's western region and the mainly Russian-speaking eastern region.
Meanwhile, his rival Yanukovych told "Izvestiya" that the United States made what he called concerted efforts to ensure the victory of Yushchenko.
The preliminary vote count from the 26 December balloting gave Yushchenko 52 percent compared to Yanukovych's 44 percent with 99.9 percent of precincts counted by this morning.
Yanukovych has refused to concede defeat and vowed to appeal. An earlier election in late November -- which according to discredited official results Yanukovych won -- was annulled by the Supreme Court on 1 December.
(AP/AFP/dpa)
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[For more RFE/RL coverage and analysis, see our dedicated "Ukraine's Disputed Election" website.]