Incumbent President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has called President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky to greet on the official announcement of the vote results and they have agreed to meet soon.
"As sitting Head of State, I have just called Volodymyr Zelensky and congratulated him on the official results of the elections announced today by the Central Election Commission," Poroshenko said in his video address posted on the official website on April 30.
He recalled that all international observers had recognized the presidential elections as fair, transparent and democratic. "They fully corresponded to Ukraine's strategy of membership in the European Union and NATO, which I have been consistently implementing over the five years of my presidency," Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko expressed hope that the course of state development would be continued by the newly-elected president. "I am hopeful that the new president will continue this course, which fully meets the national interests of Ukraine," he said.
Poroshenko said he would spend the last weeks of his tenure as president on seeking tougher sanctions against Russia.
Read alsoUkraine protests against Russia-based centers issuing passports for Donbas
"But what needs to be done immediately is to demonstrate a single Ukrainian position to all our partners, while the Kremlin implements another stage of the hybrid war against Ukraine, distributing Russian passports in the occupied territories. In doing so, Putin prepares a justification for a new round of military aggression under the pretext of protecting the rights of the citizens of the Russian Federation," he said.
"Russia deserves a significant increase in sanctions against it. This will be the main issue of the last weeks of my presidential powers. But it is already a responsibility of the new president to continue and complete the settlement of this problem. Therefore, I believe that we should coordinate our efforts. The rivalry in the elections remains in the past," he said.
Poroshenko thanked the Ukrainians who supported him at the presidential elections. "Availing myself of this opportunity, I want to thank more than 4.5 million voters who voted for me," he said. "But now, we, Ukrainians, together, jointly, must deprive Putin of any chance to take advantage of the transitional period in Ukraine, of our democratic process of transfer of power. I expect that such a position will be supported by the elected president."
He also said that during his recent phone conversation with Zelensky they had agreed to hold a meeting in the near future.
As UNIAN earlier reported, the Central Election Commission on April 30 officially declared Zelensky winner of the presidential election. According to the results of the April 21 runoff, Zelensky was supported by 73.22% of voters, incumbent president Petro Poroshenko was backed by 24.45%. Under the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the President of Ukraine, the newly elected president shall acquire authority after taking the oath to the Ukrainian people at an official meeting in parliament, after which the CEC shall present him or her with a mandate of the President of Ukraine.
