You're reading: German Chancellor Merkel congratulates Yanukovych with victory

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated the Party of the Regions' leader Viktor Yanukovych on his victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections.

The press service of the Party of the Regions announced this in a statement.

«German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Viktor Yanukovych on his election as the president of Ukraine,» the press service said.

Merkel said that Yanukovych was assuming the leadership of the country at a testing time.

She stressed that the German government would support Yanukovych as a partner during adoption of future decisions aimed at strengthening democracy and market economy in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Parliamentary Deputy Ivan Popesku of the Party of the Regions has said that the congratulatory messages from world leaders confirm the international legitimacy of Yanukovych's election.