Ukraine: Presidential Candidate Denies Georgian Meddling

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leading contender in the country's presidential race, has rebuffed accusations that Georgian observers have tried to tilt the election in her favor.

The arrival of hundreds of Georgian election observers in Ukraine's Donetsk Region, the home base of Tymoshenko's Moscow-leaning rival Viktor Yanukovich, touched off a scandal in both countries after a tape of an alleged phone conversation between Tymoshenko and President Mikheil Saakashvili about the observers surfaced in the Ukrainian media.

Speaking in Russian, Saakashvili described the observers as "combat-capable," which can mean both "qualified" and "in shape to fight." Tymoshenko's opponents subsequently accused her of employing a "task force" of "Georgian thugs," to exert improper influence over the campaign.

"[Saakashvili] meant competent observers, not ninja-fighters," Tymoshenko told Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper on January 27.

Yanukovich garnered 35 percent and Tymoshenko lagged some 10 percent behind during the first round of polling on January 17. A runoff is scheduled on February 7.